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往年 (おうねん, ounen) Japanese meaning: past years | Kotomora
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て
いる
。
He is still respected as a great player of the past.
This movie reminds me of the Hollywood stars of yesteryear.
Kanji 往 journey, travel, chase away Related words 昔 is a plain, everyday word for 'long ago', while 往年 is more formal and carries a nostalgic or respectful tone, often used for someone's glorious past.
過去 is a neutral, factual term for 'the past' in general, whereas 往年 evokes a specific bygone era with emotional or evaluative color.
往時 and 往年 are close synonyms meaning 'bygone days', but 往時 tends to describe a past situation or era while 往年 is often paired with people or their achievements (往年の名選手).
昔日 is a literary, somewhat archaic word for 'days of old', similar in register to 往年 but less commonly used in modern speech.
Etymology Compound of 往 (past, former) and 年 (year). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination naturally conveys 'years gone by'.
