閏うるう年どし

also: じゅんねん

う

る

う

ど

し

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

leap year

A calendar year with an extra day, such as February 29 in the Gregorian calendar. Used as a noun and as a の-modifier, as in 閏年の二月.

今年ことしは閏うるう年どしです。
This year is a leap year.
閏うるう年どしの二に月がつには二に十じゅう九く日にちがあります。
February has twenty-nine days in a leap year.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈年ねん〉年ねんは閏うるう年どしだthe year [year] is a leap year
2024年ねんは閏うるう年どしだ。
2024 is a leap year.
四よ年ねんに一いち度どの閏うるう年どしa leap year that comes once every four years
四よ年ねんに一いち度どの閏うるう年どしには二に月がつが二に十じゅう九く日にちになる。
In the leap year that comes once every four years, February has 29 days.

Kanji

閏intercalation, illegitimate throne
年year, counter for years

Related words

平へい年ねん
The contrasting calendar term for an ordinary, non-leap year.
閏うるう日び
Means “leap day,” the extra day itself, rather than the whole year.

Opposites

平へい年ねんN1
閏年 is a leap year with an extra day, while 平年 is an ordinary year without one.

Written forms

閏年Usage69%
- うるうどし
  Standard kanji spelling and common reading for “leap year.”
- じゅんねん
  Attested on-reading of 閏年, but much less common than うるうどし in ordinary Japanese.
うるう年どしUsage31%
Mixed kana-kanji spelling that is easy to read and also attested.
じゅんねん

Etymology

閏 is conventionally associated with intercalary or leap calendar units, and 年 means “year.” The native-style reading うるう is used in calendar terms such as 閏年; the reading じゅんねん is an uncommon on-reading.