2 · The basic sentence
How big, how far: duō before an adjective
asking about size, age, distance and time
Duō before an adjective asks how much of it there is: duō dà, duō gāo, duō yuǎn, duō cháng shíjiān.
At a glance
- Remember
- How tall, how far, how old: duō before the adjective, and no ma.
- Form
- 你多大了？how old (an adult)
- Signal words
- 多大
- 多高
- 多远
- 多长时间
- 多久
- 有多…
- Trap
- Wrong:你的弟弟怎么高？Right:你的弟弟多高？
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| how old (an adult) | 你多大了？ |
| how tall | 你多高？ |
| how far from | 离这儿多远？ |
| how heavy | 这个箱子多重？ |
| how long (time) | 要多长时间？ |
| with yǒu | 那条河有多长？ |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Duō + adjective asks how much of that quality there is, at the end of the sentence and without ma.
你的房间多大？How big is your room?
With lí, it asks for the distance from a place.
机场离市中心多远？How far is the airport from the city centre?
Duō cháng shíjiān or duōjiǔ asks how long something takes or lasts.
你学中文学了多长时间？How long have you been learning Chinese?
Yǒu may stand before duō; it makes the question a little more careful.
这条路有多宽？How wide is this road?
Example sentences
你今年多大了？How old are you?
你哥哥多高？他看起来很高。How tall is your brother? He looks very tall.
从这儿到火车站多远？How far is it from here to the station?
坐地铁去要多长时间？How long does it take by underground?
你的行李多重？How heavy is your luggage?
您等了多久？How long have you been waiting?
7 more example sentences
这座楼有多高？How tall is this building?
你家离学校多远？How far is your home from the school?
您多大年纪了？May I ask how old you are?
这部电影多长？How long is this film?
你打算在北京住多长时间？How long are you planning to stay in Beijing?
这条鱼多重？有两斤吗？How heavy is this fish? Is it a kilo?
他儿子多大了？上小学了吗？How old is his son? Is he at primary school yet?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English uses one “how” for manner and for amount. Chinese splits them: 怎么 asks how something is done, or why, and 多 asks how much of a quality there is. “How tall” is a question about an amount, so it takes 多.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English asks “how tall?”, “how far?”, “how long?” with “how” and the adjective. Chinese does the same with 多: 多高, how tall, 多远, how far, 多重, how heavy. The pair stands where the adjective would stand in the answer, at the end: 你多高？ — 一米八。 No 吗, because 多 is already the question word.
A 有 may stand in front, and it often does in careful speech: 那座山有多高？, “how high is that mountain?”. For a distance between two places, 离 names the starting point: 你家离公司多远？, “how far is your home from the office?”.
多大 does two jobs: the size of a thing, and the age of a person. 你今年多大了？ is the ordinary way to ask an adult’s age; a child is asked 你几岁了？, and an older person, politely, 您多大年纪了？. For time, 多长时间 or 多久 asks “how long”.
The adjective is nearly always the “large” end of its scale — 高, not 矮; 远, not 近 — exactly as English asks “how old is the baby?” and not “how young?”. Asking 多小 already suggests the answer is “very small”. And English speakers sometimes reach for 怎么, the “how” of manner; it cannot ask about an amount.
A closer look
Asking about age, politely
Age is asked in three registers, and choosing the wrong one is noticed. To a child: 你几岁了？ — 几 expects a small number. To someone of one’s own generation: 你多大了？. To an older person: 您多大年纪了？, or, more formally still, 您高寿？.
The 了 at the end of all three is the 了 of a situation that has changed: a person’s age is something that has grown to where it is now. Without it the question sounds clipped, though it is not wrong.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the adjective is the “small” end of a scale, such as 小 or 近
the question already assumes that the thing is small or near, and asks just how small.
你说很近，到底多近？You say it’s close — just how close?
The neutral question takes the “large” word. Choosing the other one is not wrong, but it carries the speaker’s expectation with it, as “how short is it?” does in English.
Worth knowing (1)
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Duō as an exclamation: how lovely!
The same 多 turns into an exclamation when the sentence ends in 啊 and a falling voice: 多好啊！, “how nice!”. 多么 is the fuller, more written form of the same thing.
这儿的风景多美啊！How beautiful the scenery is here!
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