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终年 (zhōng nián) — throughout the year, all year round; age at death (used in formal contexts)

Definition

Literally 'end-of-year,' 终年 has two formal/literary senses: 'all year round' (e.g. 终年积雪 'snow-covered year-round') and the euphemistic 'age at death' (e.g. 终年九十五岁 'lived to ninety-five').

noun
throughout the yearall year roundage at death (used in formal contexts)

Examples

  • 终年，。
    Zhè zuò xuě shān zhōng nián jī xuě, fēi cháng zhuàng guān.
    This snow-capped mountain is covered in snow all year round, very spectacular.
  • 终年，。
    Tā zhōng nián máng yú gōng zuò, hěn shǎo yǒu shí jiān xiū xi.
    He is busy with work all year round and rarely has time to rest.
  • 终年。
    Zhè wèi lǎo jiào shòu zhōng nián jiǔ shí wǔ suì.
    This old professor passed away at the age of ninety-five.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

终zhōngwhole or final
年niányear

终 gives whole or final and 年 gives year, so 终年 is all year or final year.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 終; 终 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
冬
冬dōng終zhōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 終 pairs 糸 (a cord) with 冬 as a sound part; the simplified 终 is a later shorthand. An older form showed a knot at the end of a cord.

Open 终 →

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
HSK 2.0 Level 6

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