---
title: "Zaonian Meaning: 早年 (zǎonián) Means “in one's early years”"
description: "早年 (zǎonián) means “in one's early years; when young”. Hear its tones, see what 早 and 年 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/zaonian"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 早年 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

早年 zǎonián

## in one's early years; when young

## It can also mean

- years ago

## Its characters

1. 早 zǎo early
2. 年 nián year

## In a sentence

他早年在国外读书。 He studied abroad in his early years.

他**早年**攻读经济学，毕业后进入了金融界。

From [拼音是谁发明的？ · Who invented pinyin? The story of Zhou Youguang](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/who-invented-pinyin-zhou-youguang#library-word-131-133)

[More about 早年](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%97%A9%E5%B9%B4)

## More words with 早 or 年

- [常年 chángnián](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/changnian)
- [成年 chéngnián](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chengnian)
- [迟早 chízǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chizao)
- [当年 dāngnián](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/dangnian)
- [过年 guònián](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/guonian)
- [今年 jīnnián](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jinnian)
- [近年来 jìnniánlái](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jinnianlai)
- [尽早 jǐnzǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jinzao)
- [老年 lǎonián](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/laonian)
- [明年 míngnián](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/mingnian)

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