âge/aʒ/
noun · A1 · Frequency 717
nounmasculine
Meanings
age
Common noun used to denote a person's age or a period in time.
Examples
Le médecin estime l'âge du patient à environ quarante ans.
The doctor estimates the patient's age at about forty.
À cet âge, les enfants ont besoin de beaucoup de sommeil.
At that age, children need plenty of sleep.
Le château a traversé plusieurs siècles, mais son âge reste incertain.
The castle has survived several centuries, but its age remains uncertain.
Collocations
- atteindre l’âge adultereach adulthood
Common mistakes
Elle a 25 ans d’âge.
Elle a 25 ans.
In French, specific age is expressed as ‘avoir + number + ans’; ‘d’âge’ is redundant and ungrammatical here. ‘Âge’ is used abstractly (e.g., ‘à mon âge’) or in prepositional phrases (e.g., ‘de l’âge de…’), never after ‘avoir X ans’.
C’est une femme jeune d’âge.
C’est une femme jeune.
‘Jeune d’âge’ is a calque of English ‘young in age’ and is incorrect in everyday usage. The adjectives ‘jeune’ and ‘vieux’ already convey age meaning; ‘d’âge’ is only found in fixed administrative/legal terms (e.g., ‘mineur d’âge’), not descriptive phrases.
Related words
synonymépoqueepoch
synonympériodeperiod; as in interval of time
nounmasculine
Meanings
age
Common noun used to denote a person's age or a period in time.
Examples
Les âges de la vie sont marqués par des besoins et des responsabilités différents.
The stages of life are marked by different needs and responsibilities.
Le musée présente des portraits de femmes de tous les âges.
The museum displays portraits of women of all ages.
Les âges avancés exigent parfois un suivi médical plus régulier.
Advanced age sometimes requires more regular medical monitoring.