7 Teens

When is a teenager not a teenager?

What’s a “teen”, or a “teenager”? People sometimes talk about teenagers when they really mean “young people”. For example, you might read: “This is a club for teenagers from 12 to 16.”

Time to get accurate. Someone who is twelve years old is not a teenager. Someone who is thirTEEN years old *is* a teenager.

How old is a teenager? A TEENager is:

13 thirTEEN
14 fourTEEN
15 fifTEEN
16 sixTEEN
17 sevenTEEN
18 eighTEEN
19 nineTEEN

Note the following:

• They are in their teens. (= They are aged 13 to 19.)
• They are in their late teens. (eg They are aged 17 to 19.)
  – early teens
  – mid teens
• a teen idol (an idol for teenagers)
• a teenybopper – a young teenager (especially girl), who follows the latest fashions in music and clothes

Learn more about the vocabulary of numbers.

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Posted by Josef Essberger May 2023
Contributor: Josef Essberger, founder of EnglishClub. Originally from London, England, Josef is the author of several books for learners of English including English Prepositions List and Learn English in 7.

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