Meaning and Usage
"今年" means "this year" or "the current year." It is used to refer to the calendar year in which the speaker is currently living or talking about. It is a very common time expression in daily conversation and writing.
Common Contexts
You will often see "今年" used when discussing plans, weather, events, or comparisons with other years. For example, "今年的春节" (this year's Spring Festival) or "今年比去年暖和" (this year is warmer than last year).
Collocations and Patterns
- 今年 + event (今年的考试 - this year's exam): to specify the event happening in the current year.
- 今年 + 打算/计划 (今年打算学习 - plan to study this year): to express intentions or plans within the current year.
- 今年 + 比 + 去年 + adjective (今年比去年好 - this year is better than last year): to compare this year with the previous year.
Notes
"今年" is always used as a time noun and usually appears at the beginning or middle of a sentence. It is not used as a verb or adjective. Avoid confusing it with "去年" (last year) or "明年" (next year).