齡 (líng) - Age & years (of life)

齡Tone 2

líng ｜ 20 strokes ｜ radical:

林伦

齡 · líng

Age;

years (of life);

duration;

used to denote a person's age or a period of time.

Ageyears (of life)duration

Usage highlights

AgeSchool ageRetirement ageVoting ageMental ageUnderage

Synonyms

  • 岁— year (of age)
  • 年— year; age
  • 年纪— age (of a person)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The legal voting age is 18 (法定投票年龄).
  • He is over 70 years old (年过七十龄).
  • School-age children (学龄儿童).
  • The retirement age (退休年龄).

Collocations

  • Age(年龄)
  • School age(学龄)
  • Retirement age(退休年龄)
  • Voting age(投票年龄)
  • Mental age(心理年龄)
  • Underage(未达法定年龄)

Idioms

  • The age of learning(学龄)
  • Reaching a venerable age(高龄)
  • The prime of life(妙龄)
  • The age of marriage(婚龄)
  • The age of military service(兵役年龄)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The character 齡 is traditionally associated with longevity and life stages in Chinese culture.
  • It is commonly used in formal contexts to discuss legal, educational, and social age thresholds.
  • The radical 齒 (tooth) reflects the ancient practice of estimating age by examining teeth.

FAQ