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【No. 1227】Zyakkan (弱冠 - Tender Age)

Apr 28, 2018 16:24
When expressing a "20-years-old boy" or a "young person," you can use the term zyakkan (弱冠).

Zyakkan was derived from a system in Zhou.

In the past in China, a 20-years-old boy was called 弱, which means young; then he celebrated his coming of age and wore a 冠, which means a crown.

Therefore, zyakkan (弱冠) originally meant a 20-years-old boy, but these days it is usually used to mean a young person.

For example, you can say 彼は弱冠18歳で世界記録を出した (Kare wa zyakkan 18-sai de sekaikiroku wo dashita - He got a world record at only 18 years old) or 彼女は弱冠30歳で教授になった (Kanojo wa zyakkan 30-sai de kyoju ni natta - She became a professor at the age of mere 30).

There is the other Japanese term 若干, which has the same reading as 弱冠, but note that the meaning is quite different -- zyakkan (若干) means that the amount of something is small.
弱冠

「20歳の男子のこと」や「年が若いこと」を表す言葉に、「弱冠」があります。

「弱冠」は、古代中国の周時代の制度に由来します。

かつて中国では、20歳の男子を「弱」といい、その年になると元服して「冠」をつけました。

このため、もともと「弱冠」は20歳の男子を表すための言葉でしたが、次第に意味が広がり、年齢が若いことを表す言葉となったというわけです。

例えば、「彼は弱冠18歳で世界記録を出した」「彼女は弱冠30歳で教授になった」のように使うことができます。

量が少ないことを表す「若干」と同じ読みですが、意味は全く異なるので注意して下さい。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 artboy598
  • Zyakkan (弱冠 - Tender Age)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • When expressing a "20-years-old boy" or a "young person," you can use the term zyakkan (弱冠).
  • When expressing a "20 year-old boy" or a "young person," you can use the term zyakkan (弱冠).
  • Zyakkan was derived from a system in Zhou.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In the past in China, a 20-years-old boy was called 弱, which means young; then he celebrated his coming of age and wore a 冠, which means a crown.
  • In the past in China, a 20 year-old was called 弱, which means young; then he celebrated his coming of age and wore a 冠, which means a crown.
  • Therefore, zyakkan (弱冠) originally meant a 20-years-old boy, but these days it is usually used to mean a young person.
  • Therefore, zyakkan (弱冠) originally meant a 20 year-old boy, but these days it is usually used to mean a young person.
  • For example, you can say 彼は弱冠18歳で世界記録を出した (Kare wa zyakkan 18-sai de sekaikiroku wo dashita - He got a world record at only 18 years old) or 彼女は弱冠30歳で教授になった (Kanojo wa zyakkan 30-sai de kyoju ni natta - She became a professor at the age of mere 30).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • There is the other Japanese term 若干, which has the same reading as 弱冠, but note that the meaning is quite different -- zyakkan (若干) means that the amount of something is small.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

勉強になりました!

Toru
Thank you so much always for correcting my post! (^^)

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