年轻

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 年轻 (niánqīng) for "young" is composed of two characters: 年 (nián) and 轻 (qīng). The character 年 originally meant "harvest" or "year", and was later extended to mean "age". The character 轻 originally meant "light" or "not heavy", and was later extended to mean "young" or "inexperienced". When combined, the two characters 年 and 轻 form the word 年轻, which literally means "light in age" or "young". This word is commonly used to describe people who are in their youth or early adulthood, and can also be used to refer to things that are new or recent.