年年 (nián nián) — every year; year after year

Definition

A reduplicated adverbial meaning 'every year / year after year', used like 每年 but with a more literary, continuous feel. Often paired with 都 to emphasize an ongoing, repeated pattern.

noun

every yearyear after year

Examples

年年。
Tā nián nián dōu huì huí lǎo jiā guò nián.
He goes back to his hometown for the Spring Festival every year.
年年，。
Suī rán nián nián dōu qù lǚ xíng, dàn měi cì dōu yǒu xīn de tǐ yàn.
Although they travel every year, each time brings a new experience.
年年。
Zhè ge chéng shì de rén kǒu nián nián zài zēng zhǎng.
The population of this city increases year after year.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

年niányear

年 repeated gives the sense of every year or year after year.

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 →