Taxonomy of meanings for 歲:　　

  • suì (OC: sqʷads MC: sʷiɛi) 相銳切 去 廣韻：【釋名曰歳越也越故限也從歩戌相銳切四 】
  • YEAR
    • n.red:adSREDUP: year after year
    • nyear; year(s of age); age sān shí suì 三十歲 "thirty years of age" 
    • ngeneralisedlong period of time, years (often with an attribute with respect to common prosperity etc. 樂歲)
    • nadVtimeper year, every year; once a year; year after year
    • ncpost-V{NUM}.post-Nclassifier for years of age 歲"X years old"
    • nadS(During the X) year
    • nab.post-Nthe year of the event N
    • npost-Vyear
    • ncpost-V{NUM}NUM yearsDS
    • ncpost-V1{NUM}.postV2be V2ing for NUM yearsDS
    • yearly> SACRIFICE
      • nabactOBI: yearly sacrifice
      • part of> CUT
        • vtoNOBI 4: cut up (animals for sacrifice)
    • abstract: TIME
      • nabdimensiontime
    • astronomic> STAR
      • nYear star
      • changing during the parts of the year> WEATHER
        • nseasonal weather; time of year
      • specific> AGE
        • nabstativecurrent age, number of years one has lived
        • ncpost-V{NUM}.adNof X age
        • n{PRED}post-VV=numberbe V years oldDS
      • specific: yearly activity> HARVEST
        • nharvest
  • xuě (OC: sqʷad MC: sʷiɛt) 相絕切 入 廣韻：【 】

    Additional information about 歲

    說文解字: 【歲】，木星也。越歷二十八宿，宣徧陰陽，十二月一次。从步、戌聲。《律歷書名》：五星爲五步。 【相銳切】

      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.

    • 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.

    • DREAM

      1. The current standard word for a dream is mèng 夢.

      2. Xiōng mèng 凶夢 refers to a nightmare.

      ZHOULI 3 占夢：掌其歲時，觀天地之會，辨陰陽之氣。以日月星辰占六夢之吉凶，一曰正夢，二曰噩夢，三曰思夢，四曰寤夢，五曰喜夢，六曰懼夢。季冬，聘王夢，獻吉夢于王，王拜而受之。乃舍萌于四方，以贈惡夢，遂令始難驅疫。

      Word relations
    • Contrast: (YEAR)年/YEAR 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.
    • Contrast: (AGE)春秋/AGE Chūn qiū 春秋 refers periphrastically, in polite and flowery speech, to years of age. See YEAR. [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [QUANTIFIED]
    • Synon: (YEAR)年/YEAR 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.