想当年 (xiǎng dāng nián) — to recall those days; to reminisce about the past (often with a tone of nostalgia)

Definition

A set phrase that opens a nostalgic look back at how things used to be, almost always followed by a contrast with the present. Used like 'back in those days' or 'thinking about it now'.

verb
to recall those daysto reminisce about the past (often with a tone of nostalgia)

Examples

  • 想当年，！
    xiǎng dāng nián, Wǒ men yì qǐ shàng xué de shí hou duō kāi xīn a!
    Thinking back to those days, how happy we were when we went to school together!
  • 想当年，，。
    xiǎng dāng nián, Tā hái shì gè máo tóu xiǎo huǒ zi, xiàn zài yǐ jīng dāng yé ye le.
    Back then, he was just a green young man, and now he's already a grandfather.
  • 想当年，，。
    xiǎng dāng nián, Zhè lǐ hái shì yí piàn huāng dì, rú jīn biàn chéng le yí zuò fán huá de chéng shì.
    Thinking back, this place was just wasteland, and now it has become a bustling city.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

想xiǎngrecall
当年those years
当dāngthat年niányear
偏正Modifier + head

想 means to recall, and 当年 means those years, so the phrase says to recall those days.

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
心心xīnheart, mind
Sound part声符shēngfú
相
相xiāng想xiǎng
Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

Open 想 →

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

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 →

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