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上年纪 (shàng nián jì) — to be getting on in years, to be aged

Definition

上年纪 is a colloquial way to say someone is getting old — softer and more indirect than 老了. Used mostly about people, not objects.

verb
to be getting on in yearsto be aged

Examples

  • 上年纪，。
    Tā shàng nián jì le, zǒu lù bú tài fāng biàn.
    He is getting old and has trouble walking.
  • 。
    Shàng le nián jì de rén yào shǎo hē jiǔ.
    People who are elderly should drink less alcohol.
  • ，。
    Wǒ fù qīn shàng le jǐ suì nián jì, dàn shēn tǐ hái hǎo.
    My father has aged a few years, but he's still in good health.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上shàngget into
年纪age
年niányear纪jìage
联合Coordinate

上 suggests getting into, 年纪 is age; getting on in years.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紀; 纪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ紀jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 紀 pairs 糸, silk, with 己 as the sound part; the simplified 纪 is a shorthand.

Open 纪 →
Appears in
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