How do you say "decade" in Chinese?

十年

shí nián

Noun Hanzi

In Chinese, "decade" is 十年 (shí nián).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

This one reads "shí nián" with second tone, then second tone; picture your pitch rising sharply, the way your voice lifts when you ask "what?".

Writing and usage

十年 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

他们在这里住了整整十年。

tā men zài zhè lǐ zhù le zhěng zhěng shí nián 。

They lived here for a whole decade.

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How to remember 十年

Link "shí nián" to a vivid snapshot of when they lived here for a whole decade and the word decade sticks.

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 十年

How do you pronounce 十年?

This one reads "shí nián" with second tone, then second tone; picture your pitch rising sharply, the way your voice lifts when you ask "what?".

Is 十年 formal or casual?

十年 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 十年 used in Chinese?

十年 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 他们在这里住了整整十年。 (They lived here for a whole decade.).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Decade" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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