晚年 (wǎn nián) — one's later years | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

晚年 refers specifically to a person's later years (typically old age). 老年 is the general state of being old, while 晚期 is the late stage of a process, disease, or era — not a person's life.

noun

one's later years

Examples

晚年。
Tā zài wǎn nián kāi shǐ xué xí shū fǎ.
In his later years, he started learning calligraphy.
晚年。
wǎn nián De yé ye měi tiān zǎo chén dōu qù gōng yuán sàn bù.
Grandpa in his later years goes for a walk in the park every morning.
晚年。
Hěn duō rén dōu xī wàng zì jǐ wǎn nián néng guò shàng píng jìng de shēng huó.
Many people hope that in their later years they can live a peaceful life.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

Late 晚 years 年 refer to the later period of a 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.

日免晚

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

免

免miǎn晚wǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

晚 pairs 日, the sun part, with 免, which supplies the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Life Stages & Age

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