闰年 (rùn nián) — leap year

Definition

noun
leap year
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 闰年。
    rùn nián Měi sì nián chū xiàn yí cì.
    A leap year occurs every four years.
  • 闰年，。
    Jīn nián shì rùn nián, èr yuè yǒu èr shí jiǔ tiān.
    This year is a leap year; February has 29 days.
  • 闰年。
    rùn nián Bǐ píng nián duō yì tiān.
    A leap year has one more day than a common year.

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.

闰rùnintercalary
年niányear

闰 means intercalary, and 年 means year, giving a leap year.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閏; 闰 is its simplified writing.

The form 閏 behind 闰 shows 門 (gate) and 王 (king): a king staying inside palace gates on a leap day, giving “intercalary”.

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 →

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