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When I am using Google translate on "I am almost 18", I get:

ich bin fast 18

or

Ich bin beinahe 18

Are this sentences correct?, what is most used? are there any other popular forms?

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4 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Yes, those sentences are correct. Most used is the first sentence

Ich bin fast 18.

The other sentences sounds somehow awkward. Beinahe has - imho - a connotation that means that there had almost something happened.

Beinahe hätte ich den Zug verpasst. (I almost missed the train.)

So I recommend not to use beinahe.

A typical alternative is

Ich werde bald 18.

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3  
Ich werde bald 18 (I'll be 18 soon) is good. However, I don't agree with your caveat against using beinahe. Translations never map perfectly, but if fast = almost then you can say that beinahe = nearly. You can say I am nearly 18 and likewise you can say Ich bin beinahe 18. I see it as a distinction without a difference. – Eugene Seidel Apr 6 '12 at 20:26
@EugeneSeidel Of course you can say beinahe 18, haven't said, that is does not work. But it's not that common. And luckily, Google back me up. In English I think nearly and almost are interchangeably, in German ... in theory absolutely, in practice rarely. In the end, it's just a personal opinion, and therefore imho – Em1 Apr 6 '12 at 20:47
Und ganz nebenbei habe ich Ich bin beinahe 18 noch NIE von einem Muttersprachler gehört. Vllt ist das auch regional bedingt, und woanders wird das eher gesagt. – Em1 Apr 6 '12 at 20:51
1  
I believe we had this discussion before ("am/im Flughafen"). The only criterion for me is my ear and I confess that I care f*ck all for what Google says :) So, I imagine a 17 year-old person telling me Ich bin beinahe 18. Does it sound odd to my ears? No. Good enough for me then :) – Eugene Seidel Apr 6 '12 at 21:52
"Ich bin beinhahe 18" ist eine etwas gehobenere Ausdrucksweise. Man hört das vielleicht deshalb etwas seltener. – Takkat♦ Apr 6 '12 at 22:13
up vote 2 down vote

Yes, both are correct. A somewhat more verbose, but also correct variant, would be to say

Ich bin fast/beinahe 18 Jahre alt.

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up vote 1 down vote

Adding a third alternative:

Ich bin so gut wie 18 [Jahre alt]

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IMO this would be possible, but not very common. – 0x6d64 Apr 8 '12 at 8:24
up vote 0 down vote

Um noch eine weitere Variante hinzuzufügen:

Ich werde in Kürze 18.

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