三四年 (sān sì nián) — three or four years

Definition

An approximate duration meaning 'three or four years' — a casual estimate, more vague than a specific number but shorter than 三五年. Often used with 住、了、学了 etc. to indicate how long something lasted.

noun
three or four years

Examples

  • 三四年。
    Wǒ zài běi jīng zhù le sān sì nián.
    I lived in Beijing for three or four years.
  • 三四年，。
    Tā xué le sān sì nián zhōng wén, shuō dé hěn hǎo.
    He studied Chinese for three or four years and speaks very well.
  • 三四年。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù xū yào sān sì nián cái néng wán chéng.
    This project will take three or four years to complete.

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.

三四three or four
三sānthree四sìfour
联合Side by side
年niányear

三四 means three or four and 年 gives years, giving an approximate span.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

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

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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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