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年岁 (nián suì) — age (of a person) — formal/literary; year's harvest, annual crop yield; a particular year, period of years

Definition

A formal/literary word for 'age (of a person)' and 'years/time'. Most everyday situations use 年龄 or 岁 instead; 年岁 is reserved for written or literary style.

noun
age (of a person) — formal/literaryyear's harvestannual crop yielda particular yearperiod of years

Examples

  • 年岁。
    Tā de nián suì yǐ jīng hěn dà le.
    He is already very advanced in age.
  • 年岁。
    Jīn nián de nián suì bǐ qù nián hǎo duō le.
    This year's harvest is much better than last year's.
  • 年岁，。
    Zài nà xiē jiān nán de nián suì lǐ, rén men hù xiāng bāng zhù.
    In those difficult years, people helped each other.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

年niányear
岁suìage; year

Both 年 and 岁 refer to years or age, so together they denote a person's age or the years of life.

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.

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 歲; 岁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
步步bù
Sound part声符shēngfú
戉
戉yuè歲suì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 歲, the part 步 shows movement over time, and 戉 gives the sound; this explanation is about 歲, not the simplified 岁.

Open 岁 →
Appears in
Life Stages & AgeTime (Abstract)

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