noun
youth; younger days
Refers to the period of one's youth, typically from adolescence through early adulthood. Often used in reminiscence or biographical contexts.
彼は青年時代を海外で過ごした。
He spent his youth abroad.
祖父の青年時代の話を聞くのが好きだ。
I like listening to stories from my grandfather's younger days.
青春 often carries a more poetic or nostalgic nuance, emphasizing the vigor and passion of youth, while 青年時代 is a more neutral term for the period of being a young adult.
少年時代 refers specifically to one's boyhood or childhood, typically before adolescence, whereas 青年時代 covers the later youth period.
Compound of 青年 (young man, youth) and 時代 (era, period). The word straightforwardly means 'youth period'.