年华 (nián huá) — the years of one's life; time (as a precious or…

Definition

Literary word for 'the years of one's life,' with a sense of time as fleeting or precious. Far more written and poetic than the everyday 年纪 ('age').

noun

the years of one's lifetime (as a precious or fleeting resource)(literary) the passing yearsone's prime

年华。
Qīng chūn nián huá shì zuì měi hǎo de shí guāng.
Youthful years are the most beautiful time.
年华，。
nián huá Sì shuǐ, yí qù bù huí lái.
Time passes like water; once gone, it never returns.
年华。
Tā bǎ zì jǐ zuì měi de nián huá xiàn gěi le jiào yù shì yè.
She dedicated her most beautiful years to education.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

华huátime/bloom

年 and 华 both refer to time or the bloom of the years, together meaning the passing years.

Characters in this word

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 華; 华 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 華 showed flowers on a plant, with stalk and leaves below. The simplified 华 is a later shorthand and not the original picture.

Appears in