往年

wǎngnián

noun HSK 6 #24,029

Meanings

Past years — referring to previous years as a pattern.

今年的冬天比往年冷。

Jīnnián de dōngtiān bǐ wǎngnián lěng.

This winter is colder than in previous years.

往年这个时候樱花已经开了。

Wǎngnián zhège shíhou yīnghuā yǐjīng kāi le.

In previous years, the cherry blossoms had already bloomed by this time.

和往年相比，今年的销量增长了百分之二十。

Hé wǎngnián xiāngbǐ, jīnnián de xiāoliàng zēngzhǎng le bǎifēnzhī'èrshí.

Compared to previous years, this year's sales grew by twenty percent.

usage

往年 implies a repeated pattern over past years, not just one previous year. It's often used with 比 (compared to) or 和...相比.

往 wǎng

年 nián