一代 meaning in English

yīdài

an era; an age; a generation

HSK 6noun6 strokes

Meaning of 一代

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

yīdài

an era; an age; a generation

How to use 一代

一代 often appears in set phrases like 新一代 (xīn yīdài, the new generation) and 一代人 (yīdài rén, a generation of people). It can also praise someone as the best of their era. Example: 他是一代名人。(Tā shì yīdài míngrén.) He was a famous figure of his era.

一 (yī) means one, and 代 (dài) means a generation or period. Picture one row of people standing together, all from the same time: that is 一代, one generation or one era.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 代 as 伐 (fá, to cut down), which has an extra stroke on the right part. Also, 一 here is often pronounced yí before the fourth tone dài, so say yídài in speech.

一代 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ父fù母mǔ那nà一yí代dài经jīng历lì过guò战zhàn争zhēng。

My parents' generation went through the war.

我wǒ们men应yīng当dāng把bǎ文wén化huà传chuán承chéng到dào下xià一yí代dài。

We should pass on our culture to the next generation.

我wǒ对duì我wǒ们men的de下xià一yí代dài愈yù来lái愈yù有yǒu信xìn心xīn了le。

My faith in the next generation is increasing.

有yǒu人rén说shuō新xīn一yí代dài的de人rén很hěn冷lěng漠mò。

It is said that the younger generation today is apathetic.

这zhè些xiē古gǔ老lǎo习xí俗sú都dōu是shì一yí代dài一yí代dài相xiāng传chuán下xià来lái的de。

These old customs have been handed down from generation to generation.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

一 yī · one · 1 strokes

代 dài · to be a substitute for · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 一代.

一起	yīqǐ	(in) the same place; together; in company (with)
一样	yīyàng	same; like
一些	yīxiē	some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er
一会儿	yīhuìr	a moment; a while
一半	yībàn	half
一边	yībiān	one side; either side
一点儿	yīdiǎnr	erhua variant of 一點\|一点[yi1 dian3]
一块儿	yīkuàir	erhua variant of 一塊\|一块[yi1 kuai4]
一下儿	yīxiàr	erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4]
有一些	yǒuyīxiē	somewhat; rather
一定	yīdìng	surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled
一直	yīzhí	straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through

Questions about 一代

What does 一代 mean?

一代 (yīdài) means "an era; an age; a generation" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 一代?

一代 is made of 2 characters: 一 (1 strokes), 代 (5 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 一代 an HSK word?

Yes. 一代 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 一代 and 一辈子?

一代 refers to a generation or era shared by many people. 一辈子 (yībèizi) means one person's whole lifetime, as in 我一辈子都记得 (I will remember it all my life).

How do I say 'the next generation' in Chinese?

You can say 下一代 (xià yīdài). For example, 为了下一代 (wèile xià yīdài) means for the sake of the next generation.