年月
Meaning in Englishmonths and years
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
年月 means a span of time measured in years and months. It denotes a duration from a starting point to a later point in time and is commonly used in written and spoken Japanese to discuss how long something lasts or has been ongoing.
Main meanings
- Duration measured in years and months; a time span that can range from several months to many years.
- The passage of time, especially the gradual progression of events or aging over years and months.
- A formal expression of a calendar-based time window used in contracts, reports, and biographical timelines.
How to use it
Used in formal and written Japanese to denote a duration of time rather than a specific date. It appears in historical summaries, business documents, and biographical narratives; commonly paired with verbs describing passage or accumulation of time.
Variants and close terms
- 歳月 (さいげつ, saigetsu) — literary or historical sense of many years and months
- 月日 (つきひ, tsukihi) — generic sense of time passing; everyday usage
- 年限 (ねんげん, nengen) — duration or limit of years; formal
Composition
- 年: year
- 月: month
- When combined, they express a span of time measured in years and months rather than a specific day.
Etymology
on'yomi reading nengetsu; formed as a Sino-Japanese compound using the characters 年 and 月; the pronunciation reflects standard on readings for kanji compounds
Word class
Noun (time expression)