HSK · Level 61
105 words
Chinese word
公元
Pronunciation
Pinyingōng yuán
Meaning
- nounAD
Example
我出生在公元1990年。wǒ chū shēng zài gōng yuán 1990 nián
I was born in 1990 AD.
More examples
历史书上常用公元来表示年份。lì shǐ shū shàng cháng yòng gōng yuán lái biǎo shì nián fèn
History books often use AD to indicate years.
Core concept
A shared calendar starting point used to locate years after Jesus's birth.
Common phrases
公元前gōng yuán qián
BC
公元纪年gōng yuán jì nián
AD dating
公元年gōng yuán nián
AD year
Similar words
公历gōng lì: The internationally used calendar based on the Gregorian system.
农历nóng lì: China's traditional calendar, which follows both the moon and the sun.
公元前gōng yuán qián: A formal label showing that a year comes before the birth of Jesus.
Definition in Chinese
表示以耶稣出生为纪元的年份记法，通常写作“公元+年份”，与“公元前”相对，用于区分年代体系。biǎo shì yǐ yē sū chū shēng wèi jì yuán de nián fèn jì fǎ tōng cháng xiě zuò gōng yuán nián fèn yǔ gōng yuán qián xiāng duì yòng yú qū fēn nián dài tǐ xì
Word origin
公 (gōng, "public") + 元 (yuán, "origin") form a shortened term for a dating system whose starting point is Jesus's birth.
Usage tips
- For conversational dates, Chinese often lets context supply the era, so saying the full label can sound more formal than simply giving the year.
Opposites
- 公元前gōng yuán qiánBCnoun
Related words
- 公元纪年gōng yuán jì niánAD datingnoun
- 公元纪年法gōng yuán jì nián fǎAD dating systemnoun