Taxonomy of meanings for 年:　　

  • nián (OC: niin MC: nen) 奴顚切 平 廣韻：【同秊 】
  • nián (OC: niin MC: nen) 奴顚切 平 廣韻：【榖熟曰年奴顚切三 】
    • HARVEST
      • nOBI 4: in OBI: good harvest; Warring States: yearly harvest (good or bad) 豐年 "bumper harvest"; 2. year with good harvest
      • npost-Nharvest of N
      • nab.t(harvesting of>) harvest of something;
      • n{PRED}
      • abstract, time>YEAR
        • nyear; years of age; age sān shí nián 三十年 "thirty years", NOT: "thirty years old". Nián sān shí 年三十 "thirty years old" and "for thirty years".
        • nderivedlong period of time; years (often with an attribute concerning the common prosperity etc. 凶年)
        • npostNprera of reign
        • nadNBuddhist: of the same entrance year (in a school or monastery) 年兄
        • n.redyear in and year outCH
        • npost-V{NUM}.postadVfor V yearsCH
        • npost-V{NUM}.adVfor NUM yearsDS
        • npost-V{NUM}.adNNUM years long NDS
        • npost-V{NUM}.postadNordinalthe NUMth year of NDS
        • exact number of in one’s life>AGE
          • nab(post-N)the contextually determinate N's age; the number of years one lives, the time-span one has lived or will live 盡其天年
          • nadSin age
          • nadV.postN{SUBJ}in age, by years of age 年老 "old in age"
          • nabtimeyears of age
          • nab.post-Nthe age of N
          • nadV.[adN]somebody N of V ageDS
        • series of>PERIOD
          • nperiod; years of one's life 遐年 "later years; old age"

    Additional information about 年

    說文解字:

      Criteria
    • HARVEST

      1. The general old and current word for a harvest, particularly a good harvest is nián 年.

      2. Suì 歲 refers to the harvest of a year without any current reference to good or bad harvests.

      3. Rǎng 穰 refers to an abundant harvest.

      4. Jià 稼 refers generally to the grain crop.

      5. Sè 穡 refers generally to the grain crop as garnered in and properly stored.

      6. Shōu 收 regularly refers to the harvest as what is garnered and collected for future use.

    • AGE

      [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

      [BASIC/MARGINAL]

      [BRIEF/LONG]

      [COMMON/RARE]

      [POETIC/PROSAIC]

      [QUANTIFIED/UNQUANTIFIED

      [ELEVATED], [INFORMAL]

      1. Nián 年, basically an agricultural term, "year of one's life" refers to age specifically in terms of number year, and the focus is on this period as having a certain length.

      [COMMON], [QUANTIFIED]

      2. Suì 歲, basically an astronomical term, refers to the year as an astronomical unit and then to "number of years one has lived"; the refers to the unit by which years are counted and the length of time as such. A primary basis of the image in these words is plant life.

      [BASIC], [FREQUENT], [QUANTIFIED]

      3. Chǐ 齒 typically refers to the age of animals, but the word also has generalised meanings where it refers informally to the age or seniority of humans. The primary basis of the image for time is the fauna of teethed animals.

      [ARCHAIC]; [[RARE]]

      4. Shòu 壽 refers to venerable high age as something desirable rather than as connoting decrepitude.

      [ELEVATED], [LONG]

      5. Chūn qiū 春秋 refers periphrastically, in polite and flowery speech, to years of age. See YEAR.

      [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [QUANTIFIED]

    • TIME

      1. An abstract general word for time as such is rì yuè 日月 or nián suì 年歲.

      2. Shí 時 refers to any period of time or point in time.

      3. Jì 際 can refer to a juncture in time.

      4. Jī 機 comes to refer to a crucial juncture or point in time, but so far no pre-Buddhist examples have been found.

    • ALREADY

      [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

      1. Yǐ 已 (ant. wèi 未 "not yet") is the general current word for "already", and this word can precede nominal predicates ( 在位已十年矣 "for already 10 years" analysed as vadN), jì 既 cannot be so used.

      [GENERAL]

      2. Jì 既 (ant. wèi 未 "not yet") is limited to subordinate clauses, yǐ 已 has no such limitations of distribution in this respect. Jì 既 can only be used in front of VPs expressing a clearly concluded development which the word declares to have been completed; yǐ 已 can also mark that something has already STARTED. See also AFTERWARDS

      [SPECIFIC]

    • YEAR

      1. The most current general word for the year is the basically agricultural nián 年. This word can refer to the years of age as well as to the time-span of a year as such. After a number word nián 年 always refers to a number of years as such and not to a person's age.

      2. Suì 歲, named after the star Juppiter, can refer to years in general, but after a number word suì 歲 typically refers to years of age and not to number of years as such. (Cf. 年十三歲 )This term is astronomical in origin and defines the year primarily in terms of the revolutions of the planets.

      3. Zǎi 載, probably named after the recurrent period of growth (cái 才 ) refers quite generally to the length of a year as such, and never to years of age.

      4. Sì 祀 is an archaic periphrastic way of referring to the year as defined by the annual sacrifices.

      5. Qiū 秋, more rarely and later also chūn 春 are occasionally used in elevated stylistic contexts to refer to a year.

      6. Chūn qiū 春秋 refers specifically to years of age.

    • WHOLE

      1. The most general word for the whole of something is yī 一.

      2. Quán 全 (ant. cán 殘 "impaired") indicates that what is referred to is being referred to in its entirety and in an undiminished state.

      3. Jǔ 舉 "the whole of" is frequent but limited to the the idiomatic phrase jǔ guó 舉國 "the whole state".

      4. Jī 期 "the whole of" is fairly frequent but limited to the idiomatic phrases jī nián 期年 "the whole year" and jī yuè 期月 "the whole month".

      Word relations
    • Epithet: (HARVEST)凶/DISASTER Xiōng 凶, shěng 眚 and jiù 咎 are archaic metaphysical terms for misfortunes.
    • Contrast: (YEAR)歲/YEAR Suì 歲 , named after the star Juppiter, can refer to years in general, but after a number word suì 歲 typically refers to years of age and not to number of years as such. This term is astronomical in origin and defines the year primarily in terms of the revolutions of the planets.
    • Assoc: (AGE)齒/AGE Chǐ 齒 typically refers to the age of animals, but the word also has generalised meanings where it refers informally to the age or seniority of humans. The primary basis of the image for time is the fauna of teethed animals. [ARCHAIC]; [[RARE]]
    • Synon: (YEAR)歲/YEAR Suì 歲 , named after the star Juppiter, can refer to years in general, but after a number word suì 歲 typically refers to years of age and not to number of years as such. This term is astronomical in origin and defines the year primarily in terms of the revolutions of the planets.
    • Synon: (AGE)春秋/AGE Chūn qiū 春秋 refers periphrastically, in polite and flowery speech, to years of age. See YEAR. [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [QUANTIFIED]