长年累月 (cháng nián lěi yuè) — year in year out; over the years; for years on…

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'for years on end, month after month' — emphasizes long, continuous duration. Use it in writing rather than casual speech.

idiom

year in year outover the yearsfor years on end

长年累月，。
Tā cháng nián lěi yuè dì zài wài miàn dǎ gōng, hěn shǎo huí jiā.
He has been working away from home for years on end, rarely going back.
长年累月，。
cháng nián lěi yuè De xīn qín nǔ lì, zhōng yú huàn lái le jīn tiān de chéng gōng.
Years of hard work have finally brought today's success.
长年累月，。
Tā cháng nián lěi yuè jiān chí duàn liàn, shēn tǐ yì zhí hěn hǎo.
She has kept exercising year after year, and her health has always been good.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

长年long years

偏正Modifier + head

累月accumulate months

累lèiaccumulate月yuèmonth

动宾Verb + object

长年 means long years, and 累月 means accumulated months, together giving years on end.

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 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.