年纪 (nián jì) — age (of a person, colloquial) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

年紀 is a casual, everyday word for a person's age. 年龄 is more formal (used on forms, in writing); 年紀 sounds natural in speech. Unlike 岁数, it is not used as a predicate of age (e.g. '我二十岁', not '我二十年纪').

noun

age (of a person, colloquial)

Measure word · 把, 个

Examples

年纪？
Nǐ mā ma jīn nián de nián jì shì duō shǎo?
What is your mother's age this year?
年纪，。
Tā yǐ jīng dào le tuì xiū de nián jì le, dàn hái zài gōng zuò.
He has reached retirement age but is still working.
年纪，。
Tā yì bǎ nián jì le, hái tiān tiān pǎo bù.
He is quite old but still runs every day.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

年 and 纪 both point to age, together meaning how old someone is.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紀; 纪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

己

己jǐ紀jì

Same sound today

The traditional form 紀 pairs 糸, silk, with 己 as the sound part; the simplified 纪 is a shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Life Stages & Age 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.