舊年 / 旧年 上年 旧年
In Cantonese, the English phrase 'last year' is expressed as 舊年 / 旧年 上年 旧年.
These terms are used to refer to the year immediately preceding the current one.
Meaning: year before this one (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
The term 舊年 literally means 'old year', while 上年 literally means 'above year' or 'previous year'.
Which one should you use?
舊年 is the most common way to say 'last year' in casual, spoken Cantonese. In contrast, 上年 is slightly more formal or used in more structured contexts.
Did you know?
- During the Lunar New Year, the transition from 舊年 to the new year is marked by the 'cleaning of the house' to sweep away the 'old' energy of the previous year.
- The word 上 in 上年 means 'above' or 'up', which is the same logic used for 'last month' 上個月. In Cantonese, moving back in time is often visualized as going 'up' a list.
- The word 舊 in 舊年 is the same character used to describe 'old clothes' or 'used goods', placing the year in the category of something already used.
Examples in context
- 上年呢個節日好開心。Last year, this festival was very joyful.
- 上年去咗邊度玩啊？Where did you go on vacation last year?
- 去年我揾到份好工作。Last year, I found a great job.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “last year” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
