estar viejo or ser viejo

Question

hola, no se se dice estar viejo o ser viejo,

muchas gracias!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

estar viejo - seems, looks, appears old / has really aged "Pues, mi abuelo está bien viejo últimamente" - "My grandpa seems really old lately."

Ser viejo - to be old (stated as a fact, with no shades of subjectivity involved). "Mi abuelo es bien viejo; ya cumplió 96 años." - "My grandpa is really old; he just turned 96."

Welcome to the forum!

thanks a lot - 6ruth6, Jan 13, 2011

Answer 2

No sé cómo se dice....

estar viejo=acts old for is age

ser viejo=is old (long of tooth) in years

Of course, if we are talking about things other than people, say food, I'd would adopt the CID method.

If classifying fresh food from stale food, then Ser. (old being a category, rather than a state of being)

If stating its condition or state of being (changing from fresh to stale) I would use Estar and treat old as a description of it's condition.

Bottom line: please provide some context so that we can give you a more accurate answer.

¡Bienvenida al foro!

Welcome to the forum!