Japanese Conversation · Level 2
86 words
Japanese word
年
Pronunciation
Romajitoshi
Meaning
- nounyear
Example
その年は楽しかったです。so no toshi wa tano shi ka tta de su
That year was fun.
More examples
新しい年が始まります。atara shi i toshi ga haji ma ri ma su
The new year begins.
新しい年を迎えると、気持ちも新しくなります。atara shi i toshi o muka e ru to ki mo chi mo atara shi ku na ri ma su
When we welcome a new year, we feel refreshed too.
Core concept
Frames time as one complete cycle of the seasons, and can count the cycles that mark a person's age.
Common phrases
年に一度nen ni ichi do
once a year
年を取るtoshi o to ru
grow older
年の初めtoshi no haji me
the beginning of the year
年の終わりtoshi no o wa ri
the end of the year
何年もnan nen mo
for many years
Similar words
年齢nenrei: A person's age measured by the years since birth.
歳sai: A counting word used to state a person's age in years.
Definition in Japanese
季節が一巡する時間を一単位とする期間。また、その経過数で表す人の年齢。ki setsu ga ichi jun su ru ji kan o ichi tan i to su ru ki kan ma ta so no kei ka sū de arawa su hito no nen rei
Word origin
The native word 年 (toshi) is written with the Chinese character 年, whose basic meaning is "year"; the age sense comes from counting yearly periods.
Usage tips
- English speakers may expect 年 (toshi) to mean only "year", but in questions about a person's age it can refer to age, while 年齢 (nenrei) makes that meaning explicit.
Other meanings
- agenoun