Describing Ages

[Thomill]

Hello,

I am having some difficulty with age descriptions.

So far, when referring to older individuals, I have seen 年纪很大 and 很大. Is there a difference there?

For younger, I have seen 年轻, 很年轻, 年纪很轻 and also 很小 and 年纪很小. This is quite confusing.

I believe I understand these, however, in terms of relative degrees of age. The 很小 and 很大 still are unclear.

* 我女儿年纪很小。我女儿年纪更小。我女儿年纪最小。

* 我父亲年纪很大。我父亲年纪更大。我父亲年纪最大。

From asking native speakers, I understand there are many terms to describe certain age ranges. I have yet to find a clear guide to doing so. Any aid would be appreciated.

[abcdefg]

I believe I understand these, however, in terms of relative degrees of age. The 很小 and 很大 still are unclear.

This lack of precision and specificity for relative degrees of age exists in English as well. A lot depends on perspective, on the "eye of the beholder": How large is the gap between the “describer” and the “describee?”

For example, I might refer to a 17 year old as "a little kid" and he might refer to me as "an ancient fossil."