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岁月 meaning in English

suìyuè

years; time

HSK 5nounTraditional 歲月10 strokes

Meaning of 岁月

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

suìyuè
  1. years
  2. time

How to use 岁月

岁月 is a literary, emotional word for the years of one's life, often used when looking back or talking about aging. It is common in writing, songs, and speeches, and it often appears with words like 美好 (měihǎo) or 难忘 (nánwàng). Example: 那是一段难忘的岁月。(Nà shì yí duàn nánwàng de suìyuè.) Those were unforgettable years.

岁 (suì) means a year of age, and 月 (yuè) means month or moon. Years plus months add up to 岁月, the long passing of time in a person's life.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 岁月 for plain, everyday time, as in asking how much time something takes. For that, use 时间 (shíjiān), and keep 岁月 for long, meaningful stretches of life.

岁月 in example sentences

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

二èr十shí年nián是shì一yī段duàn漫màn长cháng的de岁suì月yuè。
Twenty years is a long time.
十shí年nián是shì一yī段duàn漫màn长cháng的de岁suì月yuè。
Ten years is a really long period of time.
她tā怀huái念niàn自zì己jǐ的de青qīng春chūn岁suì月yuè。
She pines for the days of her youth.
这zhè种zhǒng内nèi心xīn的de冲chōng突tū往wǎng往wǎng会huì随suí著zhù岁suì月yuè流liú逝shì而ér平píng息xī。
This inner conflict tends to diminish as the years go by.
人rén生shēng苦kǔ短duǎn，岁suì月yuè如rú梭suō。
Life is short and time is swift.

Stroke order for each character

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

岁 suì · classifier for years · 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

月 yuè · moon · 4 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Related words

Words that share a character with 岁月.

月亮yuèliangthe moon
月份yuèfènmonth
上个月shàng ge yuèlast month
下个月xià ge yuènext month
月底yuèdǐend of the month
月球yuèqiúthe moon
月饼yuèbingmooncake (esp. for the Mid-Autumn Festival)
岁数suìshuage (number of years old)
蜜月mìyuèhoneymoon
月初yuèchūstart of month; early in the month
腊月làyuètwelfth lunar month
月票yuèpiàomonthly ticket

Questions about 岁月

What does 岁月 mean?

岁月 (suìyuè) means "years; time" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 岁月?

岁月 is made of 2 characters: 岁 (6 strokes), 月 (4 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 岁月 an HSK word?

Yes. 岁月 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 岁月 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 岁月 is written 歲月.

What measure word goes with 岁月?

The most common choice is 段 (duàn), as in 一段岁月 (yí duàn suìyuè), a period of years. You will also see it used without a measure word, as in 青春岁月 (qīngchūn suìyuè), the years of youth.

What does 岁月不饶人 mean?

岁月不饶人 (suìyuè bù ráo rén) means time spares no one. People say it when talking about getting older or feeling less energetic than before.

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