Meaning of 年代
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties)
- age
- era
- period
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 年代
年代 is most often used for decades, placed after the number of the decade, such as 八十年代 (bāshí niándài) for the 1980s. It can also mean a general era or time, as in 那个年代 (nàge niándài), that era. Example: 我爸爸是七十年代出生的。(Wǒ bàba shì qīshí niándài chūshēng de.) My dad was born in the seventies.
年 (nián) means year and 代 (dài) means generation or replacing one thing with the next. Put them together and you get stretches of years that follow one after another: decades and eras.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 年代 to mean a single year or a person's age, but for a specific year use 年 and for age use 岁 (suì) or 年纪 (niánjì). Also do not write 60年代 to mean sixty years; it means the sixties decade, while sixty years is 六十年 (liùshí nián).
年代 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
年 nián · year · 6 strokes
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代 dài · to be a substitute for · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 年代.
Questions about 年代
What does 年代 mean?
年代 (niándài) means "a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties); age" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 年代?
年代 is made of 2 characters: 年 (6 strokes), 代 (5 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 年代 an HSK word?
Yes. 年代 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say the 1990s versus the 1920s in Chinese?
Use the full century when it might be unclear: 二十世纪九十年代 (èrshí shìjì jiǔshí niándài) is the 1990s, and 二十世纪二十年代 is the 1920s. In casual speech, 九十年代 alone is usually understood as the 1990s.
What is the difference between 年代 and 时代 (shídài)?
年代 often points to a specific decade or a past period, like 五十年代. 时代 is broader and means an age or epoch defined by its character, as in 信息时代 (xìnxī shídài), the information age.