世纪 (shì jì) — Chinese Word

noun HSK 4

Traditional 世紀

shì jì

century · era

Meaning

世纪 means a period of one hundred years, or a century. It's commonly used when discussing historical periods, time spans, or eras. The word can refer to specific centuries (like '21st century') or be used more abstractly to discuss long periods of time.

Usage

Native speakers use 世纪 in both formal and informal contexts when discussing historical periods or long time spans. It's often preceded by ordinal numbers (二十一世纪 'twenty-first century') or used in phrases about crossing into new eras. Common in news, literature, and everyday conversation about time periods.

Examples

01
二十一世纪是科技发展最快的时代。
Èr shí yī shì jì shì kē jì fā zhǎn zuì kuài de shí dài.
The 21st century is the era of fastest technological development.
02
这座建筑已经有两个世纪的历史了。
Zhè zuò jiàn zhù yǐ jīng yǒu liǎng gè shì jì de lì shǐ le.
This building already has two centuries of history.

Characters

Measure words

个gè一个世纪

Common collocations

二十一世纪
èr shí yī shì jì
21st century
上世纪
shàng shì jì
last century
新世纪
xīn shì jì
new century
世纪之交
shì jì zhī jiāo
turn of the century

Origin

世 originally meant 'generation' or 'lifetime,' while 纪 meant 'record' or 'chronicle.' Together, they create the concept of a recorded generational period, which evolved to mean a standard hundred-year span.