光陰

光陰

See also: 光阴

Chinese

		light; ray; bright	(of weather) overcast; Yin; feminine (of weather) overcast; Yin; feminine; moon; cloudy; negative (electric.); shady
trad. (光陰)		光	陰
simp. (光阴)		光	阴
Literally: “bright and dark; light and shade”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): guāngyīn

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄤ ㄧㄣ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): гуонйин (guonyin, I-II)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gwong¹ jam¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kông-yîm
• Min Dong (BUC): guŏng-ĭng
• Min Nan (POJ): kong-im

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: guāngyīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄤ ㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: guangyin
    • Wade–Giles: kuang¹-yin¹
    • Yale: gwāng-yīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: guangin
    • Palladius: гуанъинь (guanʺinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kwɑŋ⁵⁵ in⁵⁵/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: гуонйин (guonyin, I-II)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuɑŋ²⁴ iŋ⁵¹/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: gwong¹ jam¹
    • Yale: gwōng yām
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gwong¹ jam¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: guong¹ yem¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷɔːŋ⁵⁵ jɐm⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kông-yîm
    • Hakka Romanization System: gong´ im´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gong¹ yim¹
    • Sinological IPA: /koŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ im²⁴/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kông-yîm
    • Hakka Romanization System: gong´ (r)im´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gong¹ yim¹
    • Sinological IPA: /koŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ (j)im²⁴/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: guŏng-ĭng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuoŋ⁵⁵ ^(Ø-)ŋiŋ⁵⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kong-im
    • Tâi-lô: kong-im
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kong'ym
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² im⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kɔŋ³³ im³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² im⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ im⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ im⁴⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: /kwɑŋ  ʔˠiɪm/

Rime
Character	光	陰
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	唐 (102)	侵 (140)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Open
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	古黃切	於金切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kwɑŋ/	/ʔˠiɪm/
Pan Wuyun	/kʷɑŋ/	/ʔᵚim/
Shao Rongfen	/kuɑŋ/	/ʔiem/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kwaŋ/	/ʔjim/
Li Rong	/kuɑŋ/	/ʔjəm/
Wang Li	/kuɑŋ/	/ĭĕm/
Bernard Karlgren	/kwɑŋ/	/ʔi̯əm/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	guāng	yīn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gwong1	jam1

Noun

光陰

1. (figurative) time (the limited time available in a person's life)

   • 時人見余守孤寂，為言一生無所益。余則閒吟孤寂章，始知光陰不虛擲。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     时人见余守孤寂，为言一生无所益。余则闲吟孤寂章，始知光阴不虚掷。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 800, Danxia Tianran, 《孤寂吟》

     Shírén jiàn yú shǒu gūjì, wèi yán yīshēng wúsuǒ yì. Yú zé xián yín gūjì zhāng, shǐ zhī guāngyīn bù xūzhì. [Pinyin]

     When people these days see me remain in my lonesomeness, they say that I have had no profit my entire life. But when I leisurely recite my works of solitude, only then do I know I have not squandered my days.

2. (dialectal) one's life; days in one's life
3. (Dungan) time; age; era
   • (Can we date this quote?) Ясыр Шывазы (I͡asɨr Šɨvazɨ)

     Вәмўсы минда шонян / Совет гуонйиншонди, / Зэ кэхуарди гуйтўни

     Vəmwsɨ minda šoni͡an / Sovi͡ət guonyinšondi, / Ze kehuardi guytwni

     我們是命大少年 / Совет光陰上的 / 在開花兒的國土裡
     We are fortunate youths / Of the Soviet age / Within blossoming territory

4. (Classical Chinese) circumstances; conditions

Synonyms

• (time: the limited time in available in a person's life): (litera，ry) 日力 (rìlì), 時光／时光 (shíguāng)
• (time; age; era):

edit

Synonyms of 光陰

世 (shì) (literary, or in compounds) 世代 (shìdài) (literary) 年代 (niándài) 朝代 (cháodài) 年候兒／年候儿 (niánhour) (Beijing)

年歲／年岁 (niánsuì) 年華／年华 (niánhuá) 時代／时代 (shídài) 時期／时期 (shíqī) 歲月／岁月 (suìyuè)

• (circumstances):

edit

Synonyms of 光陰

光景 (guāngjǐng) 境地 (jìngdì) (chiefly undesirable) 境遇 (jìngyù) (usually negative) 局面 (júmiàn) 情境 (qíngjìng) 景象 (jǐngxiàng) (literary) 板面 (Zhangzhou Hokkien) 事態／事态 (shìtài) (especially negative) 境況／境况 (jìngkuàng) (usually economic) 局勢／局势 (júshì)

形勢／形势 (xíngshì) 情勢／情势 (qíngshì) 情態／情态 (qíngtài) 情況／情况 (qíngkuàng) 情狀／情状 (qíngzhuàng) (literary) 情節／情节 (qíngjié) (of a crime or mistake) 景況／景况 (jǐngkuàng) (chiefly of an economy or individual) 模樣／模样 (múyàng) 樣子／样子 (yàngzi) 狀況／状况 (zhuàngkuàng)

Derived terms

一寸光陰一寸金／一寸光阴一寸金 一寸光陰一寸金，寸金難買寸光陰／一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴 (yī cùn guāngyīn yī cùn jīn, cùn jīn nán mǎi cùn guāngyīn) 光陰似水／光阴似水 光陰似箭／光阴似箭 (guāngyīn sì jiàn) 光陰如隙駒／光阴如隙驹

光陰如電／光阴如电 光陰彈指／光阴弹指 光陰虛度／光阴虚度 寸金難買寸光陰／寸金难买寸光阴

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
光	陰
こう Grade: 2	いん Grade: S
on’yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こーいん [kòóíń] (Heiban – [0])[1]
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ːĩɴ]

Noun

光(こう)陰(いん) • (kōin) 

1. time (in a person's life)

Derived terms

• 光陰矢(こういんや)の如(ごと)し (kōin ya no gotoshi): time flies like an arrow

References

1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN