Vocabulary · 词汇 cíhuì

时代

shídài

The word for a historical era or age: 时 (time) joined to 代 (generation), the span of time large enough to have its own name and character. How it sits in a sentence, and how it differs from the neutral 时期, the decade-bound 年代, and the momentary 时候.

~5 min read

字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

时 shí carries 日 rì (sun) and means time, season, hour: time as something the sun makes visible and measurable. 代 dài shows 亻 (a person) beside 弋, and means "generation; to replace, to take the place of": one generation succeeding another, each taking the place of the last. Its core sense is the relay of human time, the handing-on from one cohort to the next.

Together 时代 shídài reads as "the time of the generations," a stretch of history measured not in hours but in the lives that pass through it. The 代 of "generation" carries the human weight: a 时代 is an age people live in and are shaped by, large enough to have a name (信息时代, the information age) and a character of its own. The same 代 runs through 古代 gǔdài (antiquity), 现代 xiàndài (modern times), and 朝代 cháodài (dynasty), all of them divisions of the long human relay through time.

时代 shídài The Core Word

时代 shídài era; age; times

N 名词 míngcí

A span of history with a defining character, large enough to carry its own name. It pairs readily with what defines the age (信息时代 the information age, 大数据时代 the big-data age) and appears in sweeping statements about the spirit or demands of the times: 时代精神 ("the spirit of the age"), 跟上时代 ("keep up with the times").

我们生活在一个信息时代。

Wǒmen shēnghuó zài yí ge xìnxī shídài.

We live in an information age.

这是一个伟大的时代。

Zhè shì yí ge wěidà de shídài.

This is a great era.

我们要跟上时代的步伐。

Wǒmen yào gēnshàng shídài de bùfá.

We have to keep pace with the times.

用法 yòngfǎ Patterns — Naming an Age

时代 in use · the core patterns X + 时代 , 信息时代 · the information age
时代 + 的 + Noun , 时代的潮流 · the trend of the times
一个 ... 的时代 , 一个变革的时代 · an era of change
跟上 / 落后于 + 时代 , keep up with / fall behind the times
时代精神 , the spirit of the age (the zeitgeist)

时代精神 shídài jīngshén the spirit of the age; the zeitgeist

The defining outlook and values of an era, the calque that matches the German "Zeitgeist." 时代 (the age) plus 精神 (spirit). Used in cultural and political commentary to name what an age believes about itself: 把握时代精神 ("grasp the spirit of the times").

这部作品体现了时代精神。

Zhè bù zuòpǐn tǐxiàn le shídài jīngshén.

This work embodies the spirit of the age.

划时代 huà shídài epoch-making; era-defining

Literally "to mark off an era," used as an adjective for something so significant it divides history into before and after: 划时代的发明 ("an epoch-making invention"). 划 (to mark, to divide) plus 时代. The strongest everyday word for a development that changes the age itself.

互联网是一项划时代的发明。

Hùliánwǎng shì yí xiàng huà shídài de fāmíng.

The internet is an epoch-making invention.

辨析 biànxī Words for a Span of Time

辨析 biànxī · Distinguishing the Words

Chinese marks off time at several scales. 时代 shídài is the grand one: an "era" or "age" with a character of its own, usually long and often named for what defines it (信息时代 the information age, 帝国时代 the age of empire). 时期 shíqī is a flatter "period" or "phase," a delimited stretch, frequently a segment inside something larger: 战争时期 ("wartime"), 童年时期 ("childhood"). 时代 feels epochal; 时期 feels like a labeled section.

年代 niándài counts years: it is the word for a decade (九十年代, "the nineties") and for a vaguely remembered past stretch (那个年代, "back in those days"). 时候 shíhou drops down to the moment: the "when" of a single occasion (你走的时候, "when you leave"; 小时候, "as a child"). A ladder from largest to smallest: 时代 (era) → 时期 (period) → 年代 (decade, years) → 时候 (moment). Reach for 时代 only when you mean an age with its own identity.

成语 chéngyǔ Set Phrases

与时俱进 yǔ shí jù jìn advance together with the times To keep moving forward in step with the age rather than clinging to the past. 与 (with) plus 时 (the times) plus 俱进 (advance together). A common phrase of approval in modern usage, urging people, institutions, and ideas to stay current, the positive counterpart of falling behind the times.

时势造英雄 shí shì zào yīng xióng the times produce their heroes Great figures are made by the conditions of their age, not by innate destiny alone, the circumstances create the opportunity for greatness. Often paired in debate with its inverse, 英雄造时势 ("heroes shape the times"), the two phrases together framing the old argument over whether the age makes the person or the person makes the age.

承前启后 chéng qián qǐ hòu carry on the past and open the way for the future To inherit what came before and pass it on, serving as the bridge between earlier and later generations, a 代 to 代 handing-on. Said of a person, work, or era that links what preceded it to what follows, the connective role between ages.