龄 (líng) — (bound form) age, years (used in compounds)
Definition
龄 is a bound morpheme meaning 'age' or 'years' — it only appears inside compounds like 年龄 (age), 工龄 (years of service), or 高龄 (advanced age). It never stands alone; pair it with a prefix to specify what kind of age you mean.
bound form
ageyears (used in compounds)
Examples
- ？Nǐ de nián líng shì duō shǎo?What is your age?
- 。Tā de gōng líng yǐ jīng yǒu sān shí nián le.He has already had thirty years of work experience.
- 。Yǎng lǎo yuàn zhào gù le hěn duō gāo líng lǎo rén.The nursing home cares for many elderly people of advanced age.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 齡; 龄 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
齒齒chǐtooth
The traditional form 齡 shows 齒, a tooth, associated with age, and 令 for the sound; simplified 龄 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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