世紀
Meanings
Refers to a hundred-year period, especially a numbered historical century such as 19世紀 or 21世紀.
She studies 19th-century French literature.
The 21st century began in 2001.
A broader, often rhetorical use for an age characterized by something, not necessarily a precisely counted hundred years.
That invention opened a new era of communication.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
of the century; epoch-making
Used as 世紀の before a noun to praise or emphasize something as exceptionally important or memorable, as in 世紀の一戦 or 世紀の大発見.
The match between the two was called the fight of the century.
The fossil was reported as the discovery of the century.
Usage patterns
- 〈数〉世紀the ~th century
In the 21st century, the internet changed the world.
- 世紀の〈物〉the ~ of the century; an epoch-making ~
This discovery is being called the discovery of the century.
- 〈数〉世紀に入るto enter the ~th century
Humanity changed greatly upon entering the 21st century.
- 〈数〉世紀にわたるspanning ~ centuries
This building has been used for several centuries.