Skip to content

【No. 1515】Sihan Seiki (四半世紀 - Quarter-Century)

Feb 10, 2019 23:49
Sihan Seiki

Today, I found the expression shihan seiki (四半世紀) when reading a novel.

Shi (四) means "four," han (半) means "half," and seiki (世紀) means "century."

I think that it is easy to guess what it means -- shihan seiki means a quarter of a century, that is, twenty-five years.

In many cases, we just say nijū-go nen (25年 - literally means "twenty-five years"), but by using shihan seiki, the wording/sentence will become more formal.

In addition, it can emphasize the length of the 25 years.
四半世紀

今日、小説を読んでいると「四半世紀」という言葉を見かけました。

「四」は "four"、「半」は "half"、「世紀」は "century" を意味します。

想像に難くないかもしれませんが、「四半世紀」は一世紀の四分の一、すなわち「25年」を意味します。

多くの場合、単に「25年」という表現を使いますが、「四半世紀」を使うことでよりフォーマルな言葉遣い・文章になります。

さらに、25年という年月の長さを強調することができます。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 JT
  • Sihan Seiki
  • Shihan Seiki
  • Today, I found the expression 'shihan seiki' (四半世紀) when reading a novel.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • 'Shi' (四) means "four," 'han' (半) means "half," and 'seiki' (世紀) means "century."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • I think that it is easy to guess what it means -- 'shihan seiki' means a quarter of a century, that is, twenty-five years.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In many cases, we just say 'nijū-go nen' (25年 - literally means "twenty-five years"), but by using 'shihan seiki', the wording/sentence will become more formal.
  • In many cases, we just say 'nijū-go nen' (25年 - literally means "twenty-five years"), but by using 'shihan seiki', the wording/sentence will become more formal.
  • In addition, it can emphasize the length of the 25 years.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

Great! That's interesting.

Toru
Thank you so much for the correction! :)

Comments