代 (dài): generation

Meanings

1 generation
2 era
3 to replace
4 to represent

Characters

代

dài

generation; era; to substitute

Contains 亻 (person) — generations are successions of people.

Examples

这是我们这一代人的责任。

Zhè shì wǒmen zhè yī dài rén de zérèn.

This is the responsibility of our generation.

他是90年代出生的。

Tā shì 90 niándài chūshēng de.

He was born in the 90s.

你能代我去开会吗？

Nǐ néng dài wǒ qù kāihuì ma?

Can you attend the meeting on my behalf?

Tips

usage

年代 means 'decade/era', e.g. 80年代 = the 80s. 代 alone as a measure word counts generations: 第三代 = third generation.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (radical form)

Person radical on the left makes the meaning concrete — generations are successions of people, and to substitute / represent is fundamentally one person standing in for another. The human axis is core to all 代 senses.

phonetic

弋 yì

tethered arrow (here phonetic)

弋 (a tethered arrow used in fowling) supplies the sound (yì to dài, an irregular dental/vocalic shift). Faintly semantic: a tethered arrow flies and is pulled back, a fitting metaphor for one generation succeeding another or one person substituting for another.