歳 (suì) - Year, age — refers to a calendar year, & also used in the context of harvest years.

歳Tone 4

suì ｜ 13 strokes ｜ radical:

树檀

歳 · suì

Year, age — refers to a calendar year, one's age, or the passage of time;

also used in the context of harvest years.

Year, age — refers to a calendar year,also used in the context of harvest years.

Usage highlights

AgeYears and monthsEnd of the yearNew YearHarvest yearSixtieth birthday

Synonyms

  • 年— year (more general term)
  • 龄— age (more common in Chinese)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • I am twenty years old (二十歳).
  • This year's harvest (今年の歳入).
  • He celebrated his sixtieth birthday (還暦の歳).
  • The passing of years (歳月).

Collocations

  • Age(年齢)
  • Years and months(歳月)
  • End of the year(歳末)
  • New Year(歳旦)
  • Harvest year(歳入)
  • Sixtieth birthday(還暦の歳)

Idioms

  • The flight of time(歳月人を待たず)
  • Years and months flow like a river(歳月流るる如し)
  • To celebrate one's longevity(歳寒の松柏)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In Japanese culture, 歳 is commonly used to denote age and the passage of time in formal contexts.
  • The character appears in traditional celebrations of longevity, such as the kanreki (還暦) 60th birthday.
  • Historically associated with agricultural cycles and harvest years in both Chinese and Japanese contexts.

FAQ