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年轻 (nián qīng) — young

Definition

年轻 means 'young' as an age, usually about people. Unlike 小 (which can describe young children or small size), 年轻 is used for teenagers, young adults, and middle-aged people who are not yet old.

adjective
young

Examples

  • 年轻。
    Tā bǐ wǒ nián qīng liǎng suì.
    She is two years younger than me.
  • 年轻。
    nián qīng De shí hou yào duō xué xí.
    When you are young, you should study more.
  • 年轻。
    Zhè wèi lǎo shī hěn nián qīng.
    This teacher is very young.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

年niánage
轻qīnglight

The part 年 refers to age, and 轻 means light, so the word describes age as light, hence young.

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.

Open 年 →

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 輕; 轻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng輕qīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輕 pairs 車, a carriage, with 巠 to give the sound; it originally named a light carriage. The simplified 轻 is only a later shorthand.

Open 轻 →
Appears in
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