花甲之年

huājiǎzhīnián

idiom

Meanings

1 the age of sixty
2 one's sixtieth year

Characters

flower; (here) intricate/interwoven

first; (here) the sexagenary cycle

of (classical possessive)

Examples

HSK 5

花甲之年的她决定重新学钢琴。

Huājiǎzhīnián de tā juédìng chóngxīn xué gāngqín.

At sixty, she decided to take up the piano again.

HSK 6

他虽已过花甲之年，仍坚持每天跑步。

Tā suī yǐ guò huājiǎzhīnián, réng jiānchí měitiān pǎobù.

Though past sixty, he still jogs every day.

HSK 7-9

爷爷已到花甲之年，身体依然硬朗。

Yéye yǐ dào huājiǎzhīnián, shēntǐ yīrán yìnglǎng.

Grandpa has reached sixty, but he's still hale and hearty.

Tips

culture

花甲 refers to the 六十甲子 - the sixty-year cycle formed by pairing the ten Heavenly Stems (天干) with the twelve Earthly Branches (地支). One full cycle is sixty years, so 花甲之年 means age 60. Related milestones: 而立 30, 不惑 40, 知天命 50, 花甲 60, 古稀 70.

register

Formal and respectful. Use for elders or in writing; colloquially people just say 六十岁 or 六十多岁.

Stroke Order

花 huā

甲 jiǎ

之 zhī

年 nián