Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 猴年马月 (hóunián mǎyuè) indefinite time

猴年马月 (hóunián mǎyuè) indefinite time; long long ago

Usage:

 

“猴年马月”指没有准确的期限，不知道什么时候，事情发生或者完成的时间与说话时时间间隔比较长；也用来指这件事情不太可能实现或完成。也有一种说法认为，“猴年马月”是天津话“何年嘛月”谐音的变体。

" 猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)" means there is no specific deadline for an on-going thing or specific date for occurrence of the thing. It also indicates that something is unlikely accomplished. Someone believes that "猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)" is derived from “何年嘛月(hénián màyuè)”, an expression in Tianjin dialect.

Sentences:

 

1、Zhège xiàngmù yǐjīng tuō le hěnjiǔ le ,zài zhèyàng xiàqù, hóunián mǎyuè cái néng wán chéng.
 这个项目已经拖了好久了，再这样下去，猴年马月才能完成。

This project has been delayed for a long time. If things go on like this, God knows when we can finish it.

 

2、Zhè dōu shì hóunián mǎyuè de shìqing le, nǐ jūrán hái jìzhe?
这都是猴年马月的事情了，你居然还记着？

It happened a long time ago, but you still remember it!