Meaning of 明年
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- next year
How to use 明年
明年 is a time word that usually goes before the verb, either at the start of the sentence or right after the subject. It pairs with 今年 (jīnnián) this year and 去年 (qùnián) last year. Example: 我明年去中国。 (Wǒ míngnián qù Zhōngguó.) I am going to China next year.
明 (míng) joins 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), so it suggests brightness and the coming day, as in 明天 (míngtiān) tomorrow. Add 年 (nián) year and you get the year that is coming next: 明年 (míngnián).
Common mistake: Learners often say 下年 by analogy with 下个月 (xià ge yuè, next month), but the normal word for next year is 明年. Also, do not put 明年 at the end of the sentence like English "next year". Say 我明年工作 (wǒ míngnián gōngzuò), not 我工作明年.
明年 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.
明 míng · bright · 8 strokes
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年 nián · year · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 明年.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 今年 | jīnnián | this year |
| 去年 | qùnián | last year |
| 半年 | bàn nián | half a year |
| 新年 | xīnnián | New Year |
| 年轻 | niánqīng | young |
| 说明 | shuōmíng | to explain; to illustrate |
| 明星 | míngxīng | star; celebrity |
| 少年 | shàonián | early youth; youngster |
| 青年 | qīngnián | youth; youthful years |
| 青少年 | qīng-shàonián | adolescent; youth |
Questions about 明年
What does 明年 mean?
明年 (míngnián) means "next year" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 明年?
明年 is made of 2 characters: 明 (8 strokes), 年 (6 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 明年 an HSK word?
Yes. 明年 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say the year after next in Chinese?
Use 后年 (hòunián). The pattern is 前年 (qiánnián) the year before last, 去年, 今年, 明年, 后年.
Do I need to add 的 or 在 before 明年?
No. You do not need 在 before 明年 when it shows when something happens, for example 明年我学中文 (míngnián wǒ xué Zhōngwén). Use 的 only when 明年 describes a noun, as in 明年的计划 (míngnián de jìhuà) next year's plan.