Word
年月
Meaning in Englishmonths and years
Animated kanji stroke order
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)
Related words by kanji and components
N2
月末
getsumatsu
end of the month
N2
青少年
seishounen
youth, young person
N2
先々月
sensengetsu
month before last
N2
中年
chuunen
middle-aged
N2
月日
tsukihi
time, years, days
N2
三日月
mikazuki
crescent moon
N3
少年
shounen
boy, juvenile boy
N3
青年
seinen
youth, young adult, young man
N3
年度
nendo
fiscal year, academic year