来年 (lái nián) — next year, the coming year

Definition

Literary/formal written word for 'next year'. Use 明年 in everyday speech instead.

noun

next yearthe coming year

来年。
lái nián Wǒ men jì huà huàn gè gōng zuò.
Next year we plan to change jobs.
来年？
lái nián De jīng jì xíng shì huì gèng hǎo ma?
Will the economic situation be better next year?
来年。
Tā men yuē dìng lái nián xià tiān zài qù lǚ xíng.
They agreed to travel again next summer.

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.

“来” points to the year that is coming, and “年” is the year, together giving the meaning of next year.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

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