Definition
早年 (zǎo nián) refers specifically to the early years of one's own life (youth/young adulthood), often used adverbially to mean 'many years ago' in a personal timeline. Unlike 以前 (yǐqián) which is a general 'before/ago', or 当年 (dāngnián) 'back then' for a specific past period, 早年 carries a sense of one's personal history and is more literary than 以前.
noun
early years of one's lifeyouth and young adulthood(time noun, adverbial) long agomany years ago (in relation to one's own history)
Examples
- 早年，。Tā zǎo nián zài xiāngxia zhǎngdà, hòulái bān dào le chéngshì.He grew up in the countryside in his early years, and later moved to the city.
- 早年，。zǎo nián zhèlǐ hái hěn huāngliáng, xiànzài biàn chéng shāngyè qū le.Many years ago this place was still very barren; now it has become a business district.
- 早年？Nǐ zǎo nián de jīnglì duì nǐ hòulái de rénshēng yǐngxiǎng hěn dà ba?Your early experiences must have had a big influence on your later life, right?
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