lau4 nin4流年
Jyutpinglau4 nin4
Yalelàuh nìhn
Definition
One's fortune or luck in a given year in Chinese astrology.
colloquialother
How it's used
Originating from Chinese metaphysics, this term specifically refers to the fortune or luck cycle of a single calendar year. It is frequently used in the context of consulting fortune tellers or reading horoscopes to see if one needs to perform rituals to ward off bad luck. While it sounds formal, it is widely understood and used in casual conversation whenever people discuss their annual prospects.
Examples
The master says my luck this year is not bad.
Do you know how your luck is for this year?
Related words
Common phrases
a year of bad luck
to have one's fortune told for the year
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the general word for luck, 運氣, as 流年 is strictly tied to the specific twelve month cycle of a year. It is also not used to describe a person's overall life destiny, which is better expressed as 命運.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
