zau1 nin4週年周年
Jyutpingzau1 nin4
Yalejāu nìhn
Definition
Anniversary.
neutraltimeother
How it's used
Focuses primarily on the passage of years for organizations or significant milestones in relationships. While it functions as a noun, it is almost always paired with a number and followed by 紀念 to form a complete phrase in formal or semi-formal contexts. When referring to personal birthdays, especially for older people or historical figures, 壽辰 or 誕辰 is preferred instead.
Examples
Next month is our fifth wedding anniversary.
The company is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this word to refer to a person's birthday in casual conversation, as it sounds overly formal or institutional. For a friend's birthday, simply use 生日.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
