How to Talk About Your Birthday and Age in Portuguese
Portuguese uses ter for age: tenho trinta anos; use meu aniversário é… or faço aniversário em… to give a birthday.
Real Life Portuguese · 5 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Portuguese expresses age with ter (to have), not ser or estar: tenho trinta anos (I’m thirty years old). To ask politely, quantos anos você tem? means ‘how old are you?’ Age questions can feel personal, so use them when the conversation makes the topic appropriate.
Use ter to ask and answer someone’s age
Change ter for the person: eu tenho, você tem, a gente tem, nós temos. The noun anos is normally plural except with um ano. You can answer with just the number when the question makes the meaning clear.
Quantos anos você tem?
How old are you?
Tenho vinte e oito anos.
I’m twenty-eight years old.
Meu sobrinho tem um ano.
My nephew is one year old.
Say when the birthday happens
Meu aniversário é em maio says ‘my birthday is in May’; give the day with a full date: meu aniversário é no dia 12 de maio. Fazer aniversário means to have or celebrate a birthday: faço aniversário em setembro (my birthday is in September). The subject changes the verb: ela faz, nós fazemos.
In some Brazilian regions, estar de aniversário is also used. Meu aniversário é… and faço aniversário em… are clear patterns for learners across many settings. Use a month name when you want to avoid ambiguity in numeric dates.
Quando é o seu aniversário?
When is your birthday?
Faço aniversário no dia 12 de maio.
My birthday is on May 12.
A gente vai comemorar o aniversário dela no sábado.
We’re going to celebrate her birthday on Saturday.
Put it into practice
Ask quantos anos você tem? and answer with ter + age. Use meu aniversário é… or faço aniversário em… to tell someone when your birthday is.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “My nephew is one year old”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
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