成年 chéngnián to grow to adulthood
to grow to adulthood; fully grown; adult; the whole year
How to remember 成年: 成 to become + 年 year = to grow to adulthood.
Characters
How it is used
- To come of age; fully grown - 成年人 (chéngniánrén) adult; 未成年 (wèichéngnián) underage; 成年后 after coming of age.
- Legal/developmental 'adulthood' (also for animals: 成年老虎 a grown tiger). It can also mean 'the whole year long': 成年累月 (chéngnián lěiyuè) year after year.
- Neutral, unlike 成人 which can imply explicit content.
Example sentences
- 我们已是成年人了。 Wǒmen yǐ shì chéngniánrén le.We're adults.