八九年 (bā jiǔ nián) — the year 1989 (often referring to the Tiananmen Square protests)

Definition

Shorthand for the year 1989, used almost exclusively to refer to the Tiananmen Square protests and the events of that year rather than the calendar year itself.

noun
the year 1989 (often referring to the Tiananmen Square protests)

Examples

  • 八九年。
    bā jiǔ nián De shì jiàn zài zhōng guó hěn shǎo bèi gōng kāi tǎo lùn.
    The events of 1989 are rarely discussed publicly in China.
  • 八九年。
    Yǒu xiē lì shǐ xué jiā zài yán jiū bā jiǔ nián de dàng àn.
    Some historians are researching the archives of 1989.
  • 八九年。
    Guān yú bā jiǔ nián de tǎo lùn xū yào fēi cháng jǐn shèn.
    Discussions about 1989 require great caution.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →

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

The shape comes from a stylized hand bent at the wrist, with the lower-right hook showing the bend. Later, it was taken to show a tightened fist bumping up to ten, giving the number nine.

Open 九 →

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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