อายุ

Explanation

The core idea of อายุ is the length of time that has passed since someone or something began to exist or became valid. Its most common everyday use is a person’s age. Age is expressed in the order อายุ + number + ปี, as in อายุ 20 ปี (“20 years old”). ขวบ is often used instead of ปี for young children. อายุมาก means “older” or “advanced in age,” อายุน้อย means “younger,” and อายุเท่ากัน means “the same age.” With objects and documents, อายุ can refer to their usable or valid period. หมดอายุ (“to expire”) and ต่ออายุ (“to renew”) are especially common in daily life and administrative situations.

Usage

It is commonly used when giving someone’s age in introductions, medical interviews, school records, insurance forms, and official documents. It also appears when discussing visa or passport renewals, licenses, memberships, expiration dates on food and medicine, and the service life of products.

Caution

Do not say 20 อายุ for “20 years old”; the usual order is อายุ 20 ปี. Asking someone’s age directly can also feel intrusive in some situations. อายุมาก is a more neutral way to describe someone as older than แก่, which may sound blunt or insulting when applied directly to a person.

1 age synonyms

• วัย

  way age range

  วัย focuses on a stage of life or an age group, such as childhood or youth. อายุ is used for someone’s age, especially when stating or asking how old they are.

2 life span synonyms

• อายุขัย

  อายุขัย specifically means a life span and sounds somewhat more formal. อายุ is the general everyday word and may mean either age or life span depending on context.

3 period of validity synonyms

• ระยะเวลา

  ระยะเวลา is a broad term for any length or period of time. อายุ can specifically describe how long an item remains usable or something remains valid.