Chinese Dictionary

Usage of the character 年

year
CL:個／个 (gè)

grain
harvest (old)
variant of 年 (nián)

surname Nian

the year before last

leap year
(lunar calendar) year with a thirteen intercalary month

fleeting time
horoscope for the year

Year of the Tiger (e.g. 2010)

Wannian county in Shangrao 上饒／上饶, Jiangxi

young
underage

old
aged

Year of the Ox or Bull (e.g. 2009)

anniversary
annual

see 賀歲／贺岁 (hèsuì)

by the end of the year
at the end of the year; shortly before New Year

age limit
fixed number of years

year after year; yearly; every year; annually

every year
each year
yearly

prosperous year
year with bumper harvest

former years
previous years

beginning of the year

childhood
infancy

young
youthful

New Year (Spring Festival) picture

annual production

in those days
then
in those years
during that time

old
aged

(of a family) to come together at lunar New Year's Eve
family reunion at New Year's

annual report

the year after next

Year of the Rat (e.g. 2008)

the final years (of a regime)

millennium

end of the year

a few years; several years
how many years?

year of famine

Yongnian county in Handan 邯鄲／邯郸 ( Hándān), Hebei

one's later years

annual meeting

the year's harvest

New Year
CL:個／个 (gè)

length of life
life span

Year of the Dog (e.g. 2006)

Year of the Ram (e.g. 2003)

many years ago; in the past
in one's early years

elderly
old age
autumn of one's years

year after year
with each passing year
over the years

member of a group who have gone through some experience in the same year

this year

over the years
bygone years

entire year
throughout the year
age at death

annual average (rate)

years
time
age

year (e.g. school year, fiscal year)
annual

Year of the Snake (e.g. 2001)

in the years of
during those years
period (of dynasty or decade)

young

grade
year (in school, college etc)
CL:個／个 (gè)

beginning of maturity (of a girl)

(of wine) aged
(of debts etc) old; longstanding

childhood

for a long time
over many years
old
advanced in age

Year of the Cock (e.g. 2005)

Year of the Horse (e.g. 2002)

the New Year festival

to avoid going home for the Chinese New Year (for any of various reasons: because one finds the festivities onerous in some way, or because it would be seen as inauspicious for one to attend, or, in former times, to avoid creditors, since it was the custom to have debts settled before New Year's Day, and once into the New Year, debtors got a reprieve)

the following year
the next year

the end of the year
year-end

that very same year

all year round
for years on end
average year

common year

Spring Festival atmosphere; festive ambience of Chinese New Year

lunar new year

Year of the Rabbit (e.g. 2011)

lit. older brother
fig. fellow students who are successful in the imperial examinations

fiscal year
financial year

the whole year
all year long

lunar New Year's Eve

date and time of a person's birth
age

annual inspection

reign title
era name (name for either the entire reign of an emperor or one part of it)
year number (such as 2016 or 甲子)

to step into the new year
New Year

light-year

chronicle (of sb's life)

years

to number the years
calendar era
annals
chronicle

calendar year

the prime of one's life
youthful years

during the current year

years of age
age

youthful

to grow to adulthood
fully grown; adult
the whole year

to lengthen life

all the year round

nian gao, New Year cake, typically a sweet, steamed cake made with glutinous rice flour

last year

(a person's) current age

next year

to celebrate the Chinese New Year

one's remaining years

within the year
in the middle of the year
mid-year

start of the year
whole year
a particular year
period
days
epoch
a year's harvest

last year

annual interest

early youth
youngster
(literary) youth; young man

natural life span

Year of the Monkey (e.g. 2004)

a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties)
age
era
period
CL:個／个 (gè)

to pay a New Year call
to wish sb a Happy New Year

end of the year

for years
year after year

in former years; in previous years

Year of the Boar (e.g. 2007)

full year
ten years

aged

annual report
yearbook
almanac

the same year

annual fee

early years

years of age
age

to live to the (ripe) age of

annual salary

one's declining years; one's old age

next year
the coming year

young
junior

the prime of one's life

youth
youthful years
young person
the young

several years
many years

Year of the Dragon (e.g. 2000, 2012, etc)

months and year
time
days of one's life

age and experience
seniority

age
CL:把 (bǎ),個／个 (gè)

this past year
over the last years

timeline
chronology
annals
financial year
year

senior

first year of an emperor's reign
first year of an era
first year of a significant time period

camaraderie between persons who have gone through some experience in the same year

yearly salary

academic year

lit. robust years
prime of life
summer
able-bodied (fit for military service)
mature (talent, garden etc)

many years
for many years
longstanding

annual ring
growth ring

hundred years
century
lifetime

to have attained the age of

half a year

successive years
over many years

year of famine

particular year

end of the year

merchandise sold for Chinese New Year

last year
the Chinese New Year (i.e. the new year in the old calendar)

for years

annual leave
New Year holidays

end of the year

(literary) every year; year after year
(literary) in recent years
Taiwan pr. (bìnián)

aged and respected; senior

a great age

(a person's) age
CL:把 (bǎ),個／个 (gè)

to prolong life

calendar
diary

recent year(s)

middle age

annuity
pension
superannuation

zhōngqīngnián

middle-aged

xiǎoqīngnián

young person
youngster

this year
the current year

for the past many years

lunar New Year

chronology (the science of determining the dates of past events)

shàngbànnián

first half (of a year)

for the past few years

last day of the lunar year
Chinese New Year's Eve

beginning of an age
beginning of a decade

menopause
andropause

(coll.) the night before lunisolar New Year's Eve
(Tw) the night before New Year's Eve (either lunisolar or Gregorian)
(old) Little New Year's Eve (the 23rd or 24th of the 12th lunisolar month, when people offer sacrifices to the kitchen god)

qīngshàonián

adolescent
youth
teenager

Wannian county in Shangrao 上饒／上饶, Jiangxi

qīngzhuàngnián

the prime of one's life

New Year's Eve family dinner

to make more youthful
to promote younger staff

old age

second half of the year

Youth Day (May 4th), PRC national holiday for young people aged 14 to 28, who get half a day off

New Year's card
CL:張／张 (zhāng)

inauspicious year for marriage

zhèngdāngnián

to be in the prime of life

Nippon lily (Rohdea japonica)

in recent years

annals
chronicle

dates of birth and death (of historical figure)

old people; the elderly

liǎngqiānnián

the year 2000
2000 years

to cast sb's yearly horoscope

age group

several years

biennial (botany)

young people
youngster

New Year greeting card

(slang) stunning legs
sexy legs

zhōuniánqìng

anniversary celebration

young person
the young

carnival (loanword)

santonin (loanword)

millennium

young criminal
juvenile delinquent

for the past several years

annual range (temperature, humidity etc)

qīngniántuán

youth corps
youth wing of a political party

Shàonián Gōng

Children's Palace, institution where children can take part in various extracurricular activities

a lower grade (in a school) (e.g. 1st or 2nd year); the lower division (of a school etc)

duōniánshēng

perennial (of plants)

Yi New Year

late last year
the end of last year

(of a person) to get old

Yǒngniánxiàn

Yongnian county in Handan 邯鄲／邯郸 ( Hándān), Hebei

to shop in preparation for Chinese New Year

YMCA (international Christian youth movement, formed in 1844)

adolescence

period of ... years

héngxīngnián

the sidereal year (astronomy)
the year defined in terms of the fixed stars

younger old person
young retiree

perpetual calendar
ten thousand year calendar
Islamic calendar introduced to Yuan China by Jamal al-Din 紮馬剌丁／扎马剌丁

year of one's birth sign, according to the cycle of 12 animals of the earthly branches 地支 (dìzhī)

zhōnglǎonián

middle and old age

annual (botany)

chéngniánzhě

adult

zuìniánzhǎng

eldest

wèichéngnián

underage

annual income

the solar year
the year defined as the period between successive equinoxes

erhua variant of 年頭／年头 (niántóu)

more than a year

erhua variant of 年畫／年画 (niánhuà)

(coll.) nowadays

Jiāng Shínián

Jiang Shinian (c. 2000 BC), birth name of Shennong 神農／神农 ( Shéngnóng) Farmer God, first of the legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝 ( Yándì) and creator of agriculture in China

chéngniánrén

adult person

one year period (in a contract or budget)

in the style of annals
chronological history, the regular form of the Chinese dynastic histories

niánzhōngjiǎng

year-end bonus

for donkey's years
for ages

Chinese New Year

a year and a half

niánlíngduàn

age group

wàngniánjiāo

friends despite the difference in age

three years ago

three years from now
year after year after next year

Nyang qu or Nian chu River in Tibet, a tributary of Yarlung Tsangpo

cánniánduǎnjǐng

at the end of the year (idiom)

liùshíniándài

the sixties
the 1960s

hánghǎiniánbiǎo

nautical ephemeris

dòukòuniánhuá

(of a girl) 13 or 14 years old; early teens; adolescence

to be of an advanced age; to be old
an advanced age

niánlǎotǐruò

old and weak (idiom)

huāyàngniánhuá

full bloom of youth

shēngzúniányuè

dates of birth and death (of historical figure)

dìzhìniánbiǎo

geological time scale

xīnniánkuàilè

Happy New Year!

yǒushēngzhīnián

(idiom) during one's lifetime; while one is on this earth; in one's remaining years

wǔniánjìhuà

Five-Year Plan

zhōnglǎoniánrén

middle-aged and elderly people

niándùyùsuàn

annual budget

wèichéngniánrén

minor (i.e. person under 18)

féngniánguòjié

at the Chinese New Year or other festivities

shìjìmònián

final years of the century

niánlúndàngāo

baumkuchen (cake)

jīngniánlěiyuè

for years
over the years

fēngzhúcánnián

one's late days
to have one foot in the grave

chéngniánlěiyuè

year in, year out (idiom)

bùzhōngtiānnián

to die before one's allotted lifespan has run its course (idiom)

niúniánmǎyuè

see 猴年馬月／猴年马月 (hóuniánmǎyuè)

màodiézhīnián

old age (in one's 80s, 90s, or more)

niánjūnrìzhào

average annual sunshine

dàniánsānshí

last day of the lunar year
Chinese New Year's Eve

měiniányīdù

once a year (every year)

wèichéngniánzhě

minor (not an adult)

niángōngjiāfèng

increase in salary according to one's service record for the year (idiom)

yíchòuwànnián

to have one's name go down in history as a byword for infamy (idiom)

zuìjìnjǐnián

the last few years
last several years
recent years

chángniánlěiyuè

variant of 長年累月／长年累月 (chángniánlěiyuè)

qīngniánlüshè

youth hostel

niánshàowúzhī

young and inexperienced; unsophisticated

rénshòuniánfēng

long-lived people, rich harvests (idiom); stable and affluent society
prosperity

Dé Fǎ Niánjiàn

Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher (published once in 1844 by Karl Marx and bourgeois radical Arnold Ruge)

niándùbàogào

annual report

niándùdàhuì

annual meeting
annual general meeting (AGM)

cáizhèngniándù

financial year
fiscal year (e.g. from April to March, for tax purposes)

niánfùyīnián

(idiom) over the years; year after year

bǎiniánshùrén

(idiom) it takes many years to raise children to be upstanding citizens

Shùnrì Yáonián

sage Emperors Shun and Yao rule every day (idiom); all for the best in the best of all possible worlds

yīniánbànzǎi

about a year

gāoniánjíshēng

senior student

qīshíniándài

the seventies; the 1970s

yīngniánzǎoshì

to die an untimely death (idiom)
to be cut off in one's prime

bǎiniánbùyù

only met with once every hundred years (drought, flood etc)

Zhèngrénzhēngnián

Men of Zheng fighting over their respective ages (idiom)
a futile quarrel

shàngleniánjì

to be getting on in years
to be of the older generation

niánqīngqìshèng

full of youthful vigor (idiom)
in the prime of youth

xīnniánqiánxī

New Year's eve

lǎoniánchīdāi

senile dementia
Alzheimer's disease

Guómín Niánjīn

(Tw) National Pension, a social security scheme in Taiwan

chángniánlěiyuè

year in, year out (idiom)
(over) many years

géniánhuánglì

lit. almanac from years back (idiom)
obsolete practice
old-fashioned principle

lüniánmǎyuè

see 猴年馬月／猴年马月 (hóuniánmǎyuè)

niánniányǒuyú

lit. (may you) have abundance year after year
(an auspicious saying for the Lunar New Year)

chuímùzhīnián

old age

niánshìyǐgāo

old in years

qīniánzhīyǎng

seven-year itch

zhànguómònián

late Warring States period, c. 250-221 BC before the First Emperor's Qin Dynasty

Zhúshū Jìnián

Bamboo Annals, early chronicle of Chinese ancient history, written c. 300 BC

zhōngniánjīxuě

permanent snow cover

niánjiǔshīxiū

old and in a state of disrepair (idiom)
dilapidated

nónglìxīnnián

Chinese New Year
Lunar New Year

niánfùlìqiáng

young and vigorous (idiom)

hóuniánmǎyuè

long time off
time that will never come

sìshuǐniánhuá

fleeting years (idiom)

bǎiniándàjì

a project of vital and lasting importance

shàoniánzhījiā

children's center
children's club

over seventy years old

yánniányìshòu

to make life longer
to promise longevity
(this product will) extend your life

niányǐcuōtuó

the years have already gone by; to be too old

liúniánbùlì

the year's horoscope augurs ill (idiom); an unlucky year

bǎiniánhǎohé

may you live a long and happy life together (wedding greeting)

zhěngniánlěiyuè

month after month, year after year
year in, year out

niánqīnglìzhuàng

young and vigorous (idiom)

érlìzhīnián

the age of 30

all year round

bùjiǎndāngnián

(of one's skills, appearance etc) not to have deteriorated a bit
to be as (good, vigorous etc) as ever

yīniándàotóu

all year round

a day drags past like a year (idiom); time hangs heavy
time crawls when one is wretched

jīniánlěiyuè

year in, year out (idiom)
(over) many years

dàlíngqīngnián

young people in their late 20s or older who are still unmarried

shàoniánlǎochéng

accomplished though young
lacking youthful vigor

niánqīngyǒuwéi

young and promising

dòukòuniánhuá

erroneous variant of 豆蔻年華／豆蔻年华 (dòukòuniánhuá)

yíyǎngtiānnián

lit. to nurture one's years (idiom)
fig. to enjoy one's later years

niánlǎolìshuāi

old and weak (idiom)

niángāodéshào

to be advanced in both years and virtue (idiom)

niánjūnzēngzhǎnglü

年均增长率

[年均增長率]

annual rate of growth

lǎoniánchīdāizhèng

老年痴呆症

[老年痴獃症]

senile dementia
Alzheimer's disease

Shàngxià Wǔ Qiānnián

上下五千年

[上下五千年]

Tales from 5000 Years of Chinese History in three volumes by Cao Yuzhang 曹餘章／曹余章 ( Cáo Yúzhāng)

dìzhìniándàibiǎo

地质年代表

[地質年代表]

geological time scale

Zhōngguó Qīngnián Bào

中国青年报

[中國青年報]

China Youth Daily, www.cyol.net

Běijīng Qīngnián Bào

北京青年报

[北京青年報]

Beijing Youth Daily, newspaper founded in 1949

Shàonián Xiānfēngduì

少年先锋队

[少年先鋒隊]

Young Pioneers of China (primary school league, a preparation for Communist Youth League)
abbr. to 少先隊／少先队

dōushénmeniándàile

都什么年代了

[都什麼年代了]

What decade are you living in?
That's so out-of-date!

lǎoniánxìngchīdāizhèng

老年性痴呆症

[老年性痴獃症]

senile dementia

niándùgǔdōngdàhuì

年度股东大会

[年度股東大會]

annual shareholders' meeting

Guómín Niánjīn Bǎoxiǎn

国民年金保险

[國民年金保險]

(Tw) National Pension Insurance, a social security scheme in Taiwan

yīniánzhījìzàiyúchūn

一年之计在于春

[一年之計在於春]

the whole year must be planned for in the spring (idiom)
early planning is the key to success

Gòngchǎnzhǔyì Qīngniántuán

共产主义青年团

[共產主義青年團]

the Communist Youth League

huángshǔlánggěijībàinián

黄鼠狼给鸡拜年

[黃鼠狼給雞拜年]

Beware of suspicious folk bearing gifts, they are sure to be ill-intentioned. (idiom)

duōniánxífù'áochéngpó

多年媳妇熬成婆

[多年媳婦熬成婆]

see 媳婦熬成婆／媳妇熬成婆 (xífù'àochéngpó)

hǎohànbùtídāngniányǒng

好汉不提当年勇

[好漢不提當年勇]

a real man doesn't boast about his past achievements (idiom)

shàoniánfūqīlǎoláibàn

少年夫妻老来伴

[少年夫妻老來伴]

husband and wife in youth, companions in old age

wǔbǎiniánqiánshìyījiā

五百年前是一家

[五百年前是一家]

five hundred years ago we were the same family (idiom) (said of persons with the same surname)

shíniánshùmù,bǎiniánshùrén

十年树木，百年树人

[十年樹木，百年樹人]

(idiom) it takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to cultivate people

Ershí Nián Mùdǔzhī Guài Xiànzhuàng

二十年目睹之怪现状

[二十年目睹之怪現狀]

The Strange State of the World Witnessed Over 20 Years, novel by late Qing novelist Wu Jianren 吳趼人／吴趼人 ( Wú Jiǎnrén)

Zhōngguó Gòngchǎnzhǔyì Qīngniántuán

中国共产主义青年团

[中國共產主義青年團]

Communist Youth League of China
China Youth League

jūnzibàochóu,shíniánbùwǎn

君子报仇，十年不晚

[君子報仇，十年不晚]

lit. for a nobleman to take revenge, ten years is not too long (idiom)
fig. revenge is a dish best served cold

yīniánbèishéyǎoshíniánpàjǐngshéng

一年被蛇咬十年怕井绳

[一年被蛇咬十年怕井繩]

once bitten by a snake, one is scared all one's life at the mere sight of a rope (idiom)
fig. once bitten, twice shy

sānshíniánhédōng,sānshíniánhéxī

三十年河东，三十年河西

[三十年河東，三十年河西]

the river flows thirty years to the East, thirty years to the West (proverb)
change is the only constant

táishàngyīfēnzhōng,táixiàshíniángōng

台上一分钟，台下十年功

[臺上一分鐘，臺下十年功]

ten years of practice for one minute on the stage (idiom)

yīzhāobèishéyǎo,shíniánpàjǐngshéng

一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳

[一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井繩]

once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope
once bitten, twice shy (idiom)

huāyǒuchóngkāirì,rénwúzàishàonián

花有重开日，人无再少年

[花有重開日，人無再少年]

a flower may blossom again, but a person cannot get young again (proverb)

tīngjūnyīxíhuà,shèngdúshíniánshū

听君一席话，胜读十年书

[聽君一席話，勝讀十年書]

listening to the words of a wise man can be superior to studying ten years of books (proverb)

huángshǔlánggěijībàinián,méi'ānhǎoxīn

黄鼠狼给鸡拜年，没安好心

[黃鼠狼給雞拜年，沒安好心]

see 黃鼠狼給雞拜年／黄鼠狼给鸡拜年 (huángshǔlánggěijībàinián)