龄

齡

líng

令 + 齿

Definitions

líng (noun) age; years old

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 齿 represents the meaning and 令 represents the sound. Simplified form of 齡.

Semantic: 齿 Phonetic: 令

About

龄 is the simplified form of the traditional character 齡. It is a phonosemantic compound: the left side is the tooth radical 齿 (simplified from 齒), which hints at the meaning, and the right side is 令 (order, command), indicating the sound. The character primarily denotes age, years, or a stage of life, and can also refer to a historical era. The connection to teeth comes from the ancient agricultural practice of judging the age of livestock, especially horses, by examining their dental development.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的年龄是二十岁。

Wǒ de niánlíng shì èrshí suì.

My age is twenty years old.

孩子到了上学的年龄。

Háizi dào le shàngxué de niánlíng.

The child has reached school age.

他的工龄有五年了。

Tā de gōnglíng yǒu wǔ nián le.

His length of service is five years.

姐姐的年龄比我大。

Jiějie de niánlíng bǐ wǒ dà.

My older sister's age is bigger than mine.

因为年龄不够，他不能开车。

Yīnwèi niánlíng búgòu, tā bù néng kāichē.

Because he is not old enough, he cannot drive.

适龄儿童都应该上学。

Shìlíng értóng dōu yīnggāi shàngxué.

Children of the right age should all go to school.

虽然他的工龄很长，但年龄并不大。

Suīrán tā de gōnglíng hěn cháng, dàn niánlíng bìng bú dà.

Although his length of service is long, his age is not very big.

根据树龄推测，这棵古树已有三百多年了。

Gēnjù shùlíng tuīcè, zhè kē gǔshù yǐ yǒu sānbǎi duō nián le.

Based on the tree age estimation, this ancient tree is already over three hundred years old.

Related Characters

Component: 令

Component: 齿

龄