Definition
甲子 is the first combination in the Chinese Sexagenary Cycle (干支), formed by the first Heavenly Stem (甲) and the first Earthly Branch (子). It marks the beginning of a 60-year cycle and is used to designate years, months, days, and hours in traditional Chinese calendrics. In modern usage, 甲子 often refers to the year itself (e.g., 1984 was a 甲子年) or metaphorically to a full cycle of sixty years.
n.
first year of the Sexagenary Cyclea sixty-year cycle
Examples
- 1984甲子，。Yī jiǔ bā sì nián shì jiǎ zǐ nián, yě shì Zhōngguó gǎigé kāifàng de zhòngyào shíqī.1984 was a 甲子 year and also an important period of China's reform and opening-up.
- 甲子，。Yí gè jiǎ zǐ shì liùshí nián, dàibiǎo le yí gè wánzhěng de xúnhuán.One 甲子 is sixty years, representing a complete cycle.
- 甲子，。Gǔrén yòng jiǎ zǐ lái jìlù shíjiān, zhìjīn yǐ yǒu liǎng qiān duō nián de lìshǐ.Ancient people used the Sexagenary Cycle to record time, with a history of over two thousand years.
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