流年 (liú nián) — (literary) fleeting time, the passing years; (fortune-telling) one's luck or fortune in a given year

Definition

Literary word for 'the passing years' — a poetic, written-sounding phrase, unlike everyday nouns like 时间 or 时光. In fortune-telling contexts it also refers to a person's luck in a given year.

noun
(literary) fleeting timethe passing years(fortune-telling) one's luck or fortune in a given year

Examples

  • 流年，。
    liú nián Sì shuǐ, zhuǎn yǎn jiān wǒ men dōu lǎo le.
    Time flows like water; in the blink of an eye we've all grown old.
  • 流年，。
    Suàn mìng de shuō tā jīn nián liú nián bú lì, yào xiǎo xīn.
    The fortune-teller said this year's luck is bad for him, so he needs to be careful.
  • 流年，。
    liú nián Yì shì, zhēn xī dāng xià cái shì zhēn.
    Fleeting time passes easily; cherishing the present is what truly matters.

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.

流liúflow
年niányear

Passing years evokes time flowing away and luck in a 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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →

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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