年事已高 (nián shì yǐ gāo) — to be advanced in years; elderly (polite, formal)

Definition

A formal, polite idiom meaning someone is elderly or of advanced age — commonly used in writing or respectful speech to refer to older people, especially elders.

idiom
to be advanced in yearselderly (polite, formal)

Examples

  • 年事已高，。
    Tā nián shì yǐ gāo, yǐ jīng tuì xiū duō nián le.
    He is advanced in years and has been retired for many years.
  • 年事已高，。
    Suī rán nián shì yǐ gāo, tā réng rán jiān chí měi tiān sàn bù.
    Although she is advanced in years, she still insists on walking every day.
  • 年事已高，。
    Fù mǔ nián shì yǐ gāo, xū yào zǐ nǚ duō zhào gù.
    One's parents are advanced in years and need more care from their children.

Origin

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
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.

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Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

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

The shape of 已 may originally have been a drawing of either a snake or a fetus.

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

高 was drawn as a tall building.

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