早年 (zǎo nián) — (noun) early years of one's life; youth and young adulthood; (time noun, adverbial) long ago, many years ago (in relation to one's own history)
Definition
早年 refers specifically to one's own early years or youth, contrasted with the past in general. Unlike 以前 (which works for any time before now), 早年 implies the speaker's younger days or a place's earlier state long ago.
noun
early years of one's lifeyouth and young adulthood(time noun, adverbial) long agomany years ago (in relation to one's own history)
Examples
- 早年，。Tā zǎo nián zài xiāng xia zhǎng dà, hòu lái bān dào le chéng shì.He grew up in the countryside in his early years, and later moved to the city.
- 早年，。zǎo nián Zhè lǐ hái hěn huāng liáng, xiàn zài biàn chéng shāng yè qū le.Many years ago this place was still very barren; now it has become a business district.
- 早年？Nǐ zǎo nián de jīng lì duì nǐ hòu lái de rén shēng yǐng xiǎng hěn dà ba?Your early experiences must have had a big influence on your later life, right?
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