一年半载

一年半載

yīniánbànzǎi

idiom #52,608

Meanings

1 a year or so
2 a year or half a year
3 a matter of months

Characters

Examples

学一门外语，一年半载是不够的。

Xué yī mén wàiyǔ, yī nián bàn zǎi shì bù gòu de.

A year or so isn't enough to learn a foreign language.

他出国留学，至少要一年半载才能回来。

Tā chū guó liúxué, zhìshǎo yào yī nián bàn zǎi cái néng huílái.

He's studying abroad; it'll be at least a year or so before he's back.

Tips

usage

载 here means 'year' (same as in 千载难逢). Vague time expression — usually implies 'quite a while,' often in sentences noting that the task takes longer than expected.

Stroke Order

一 yī

年 nián

半 bàn

载 zǎi