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度日如年 (dù rì rú nián) — (idiom) days feel like years; to be in a situation where time drags unbearably

Definition

An idiom meaning every day drags on like a year — used for waiting anxiously, suffering illness, or feeling lonely. Same idea as the simpler phrase 煎熬 (HSK 6) but more literary.

idiom
days feel like yearsto be in a situation where time drags unbearably

Examples

  • ，度日如年。
    Zhù yuàn de nà duàn rì zi, zhēn shì dù rì rú nián.
    Those days in the hospital truly felt like years.
  • ，度日如年。
    Děng dài kǎo shì chéng jì de shí hou, tā jué de dù rì rú nián.
    While waiting for the exam results, he felt like each day was a year.
  • ，度日如年。
    Zài yì guó tā xiāng gū dú dù rì, tā shēn gǎn dù rì rú nián.
    Living alone in a foreign country, he deeply felt that days were like years.

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
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí度dù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Open 度 →

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

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

Open 日 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ如rú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

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 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesTime (Abstract)

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