ling4齡龄

Jyutpingling4

Yalelìhng

語素Uncommon

Definition

Age, or the number of years of duration.

neutraltimedescriptions

How it's used

Functions as a suffix to denote the duration of a specific state or experience, such as age of a building or years of professional practice. It is rarely used as a standalone noun in spoken Cantonese, appearing almost exclusively in compound words. It carries a formal or technical nuance compared to the everyday word 年紀.

Examples

le1呢gaan1間uk1屋lau2樓ling4齡hou2好gou1高laa3喇。

This house is quite old.

nei5你zi1知m4唔zi1知keoi5佢ce1車ling4齡gei2幾do1多aa4呀？

Do you know how many years of driving experience they have?

Common phrases

lau2樓ling4齡

age of a building

ce1車ling4齡

years of driving experience

gei1機ling4齡

age of an aircraft or machine

Common mistake

Avoid using it to describe a person's biological age, as that requires 年紀. Using 齡 for a person sounds like you are discussing their age in a clinical or statistical report.