gan6 nin4近年
Jyutpinggan6 nin4
Yalegahn nìhn
Definition
In recent years; over the last few years.
neutraltime
How it's used
Focuses on a span of time leading up to the present moment rather than a specific calendar year. It functions as a temporal adverbial phrase that sits comfortably at the start of a sentence or immediately after the subject. It is frequently used to introduce observations about trends or changes that have accumulated over time.
Examples
Many new restaurants have opened in Hong Kong in recent years.
What kind of work have you been doing in recent years?
Related words
Common phrases
over the recent years
Common mistake
Avoid using it to refer to a single specific year in the past, as it implies a continuous duration up to now. For a specific year, use that year directly or terms like舊年 for last year.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
