笄年

jīnián
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 the age at which a girl comes of age (15 in old usage)
  2. 2 a girl's coming-of-age

Examples

HSK 7-9
Nǚzǐ shíwǔ ér jī, chēngwéi jīnián.
A girl reaches maturity at fifteen - this is called jī-nián.
HSK 7-9
Tā yǐ dào jīnián, jiāzhōng kāishǐ wèi tā yì qīn.
She had reached her coming-of-age, and her family began discussing marriage.

Tips

history
笄 (jī) is a hairpin. In ancient China, a girl's 笄礼 ('hairpin ceremony') at fifteen marked her as marriageable - her hair was put up and fixed with a 笄. The male equivalent was 冠礼 (the capping ceremony) at twenty, behind 弱冠 ('weak-cap age').
register
Strictly literary/classical. You won't hear 笄年 in conversation - look for it in historical novels, classical Chinese, or formal essays about traditional culture.

Stroke Order

笄 jī
年 nián