年輪(ねんりん)

ねんりん
noun
annual rings (of a tree); experience built up over years
plant-treeabstract
1. annual rings; growth rings
The rings seen in the cross-section of a tree trunk, one added each year as the tree grows.
切(き)り株(かぶ)の年輪(ねんりん)を数(かぞ)える。
Count the rings on a tree stump.
年輪(ねんりん)の幅(はば)で気候(きこう)の変化(へんか)が分(わ)かる。
The width of the rings shows changes in the climate.
この杉(すぎ)の木(き)は年輪(ねんりん)から見(み)て、三百年(さんびゃくねん)以上(いじょう)生(い)きているらしい。
Judging from its rings, this cedar seems to have lived more than three hundred years.
2. experience accumulated over the years
Figuratively, the depth, skill, or history that a person or an institution builds up over many years.
年輪(ねんりん)を重(かさ)ねる。
To gain experience with the years.
職人(しょくにん)の手(て)には年輪(ねんりん)が刻(きざ)まれている。
The craftsman's hands bear the marks of long years of work.
創業(そうぎょう)百年(ひゃくねん)の店(みせ)には、新(あたら)しい店(みせ)にはない年輪(ねんりん)を感(かん)じる。
In a shop founded a hundred years ago you sense a depth of history that new shops lack.

Common collocations

Usage

Sense 2 is positive: it suggests maturity and depth gained with age, not mere oldness.

general
Added 2026.9.30 11:05 · Revised 2026.9.30 11:07
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