往年

wǎngnián

noun HSK 6 #24,029

Meanings

Past years - referring to previous years as a pattern.

HSK 2

今年的冬天比往年冷。

Jīnnián de dōngtiān bǐ wǎngnián lěng.

This winter is colder than in previous years.

HSK 7-9

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.

HSK 7-9

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