作者：杨秉政
关于“年”
“年”在汉语里，古今有多种表示。《尔雅 · 释天》说：“夏曰岁，商曰祀，周曰年，唐虞曰载。”然而，现在通用的只有“年、岁、载”三个字。表达时序，它们含意相同，但用法各异。
“年”用得最广。“年”过去有种写法，上“禾”下“千”（参见《现代汉语词典》第5版，995页），部首列在“禾”部，可见“年”和收获有关。“有年”指丰收a good harvest；“大有年”指大丰收a rich harvest；“年成”指收成harvest。用英语表达汉语的“年”，谈何容易。如年初at the beginning of a year；我认识他已有多年I have known him for ages；中国新年Spring Festival；年产量annual output；年表chronological table；年庚time of a person’s birth；年号reign title；光绪年间in the period of Emperor Guangxu；如年历 calendar；年轮growth ring；年青young；年轻youth；年头days。
相对来说，“岁”和“载”比较简单，“岁”用英语age, year, time, annual分别表达，即可完事。如你几岁了What is you age? 岁末the end of the year；漫长的岁月a long time；岁入annual income。“载”多用在固定词语中，入五载five years。
“年、岁、载”三个字再在汉语成语中不可相互替代。如三年五载in a few years；岁岁平安peace all year round；年年有余having more than need every year；年高望重aged and in high standing；年富力强in prime of life；年轻貌美young and pretty。
关于“春”
年分四季，春夏秋冬four seasons in a year, namely spring, summer, autumn and winter。根据考证，在商代和西周前期，一年分为春秋两季。《庄子 · 逍遥游》上说“蟪蛄不知春秋”，言其生命短处，不及一年。上古记载史实，必须标明年分，所以史书也称“春秋”history。
四季在各国的月份并不统一。中国的春季在阴历的1—3月，公历在3—5月。笔者认为，《周易 · 系辞下》说得很科学：“寒往则暑来，暑往则寒来，寒暑相推而岁成焉。”Cold succeeds hot or hot cold. Go-and-fro is the change of a year。
一年之计在于春，一日之计在于晨Make your whole year’s plans in the spring and your day’s plans early in the morning，因为寸金难买寸光阴An inch of gold will not buy an inch of time。春光明媚Spring days are bright。春雨如膏Spring rains fertilize the soil。春祈秋报Pray in spring and offer thanks in autumn。春华秋实glorious flowers in spring and solid fruits in autumn。春梦无痕Spring dream has no trace。春树暮云remembrance of a friend。春风化雨the kindly influence of a good teacher.春雨贵如油Rain during spring time is as precious as oil。
珍惜春天就是珍爱生命。韩愈写过一首“晚春”诗：草树知春不久归，百般红紫斗芳菲。杨花榆荚无才思，帷解漫天作雪飞。Realizing that the spring soon away goes / Trees and grasses hurry to show their colors/Poplar and willow and elm have no skills/But scattering to fly round their catkins and seeds。
关于“夏”
夏季“气赤而光明”，别称朱明。宋朝诗人白胜写过一首七绝：赤日炎炎似火烧，野田禾稻半枯焦。农夫心内如汤煮，公子王孙把扇摇。The hot bright sun is just like fire/That burns the rice semi-dried in the field/Farmers heart is like boiling water/Influential family is peace to fan cool。
我国的阴历，又叫夏历the lunar calendar。夏季收获的粮食作物叫夏粮summer grain crops。夏收是summer harvest，夏熟是ripen in summer，夏衣是summer clothing，夏令营是summer camp；华夏指中国China。然而，夏娃和夏天没有关系；是圣经首位妇女Eve的译音。有些国家3月份改用夏令时summer time。
成语“夏日可畏”是说官员纪律严明，犹如烈日当空of official superior who is a severe, compared with the summer sun；夏虫语冰as a summer insect discusses ice—of one who talks what he knows nothing about；夏生冬死alive in summer and dead in winter；夏去秋来Autumn succeeds summer；夏雨雨任The summer rain rains people；夏食冬蛰to eat in summer and sleep in winter；夏葛东裘Lines for summer and furs for winter；夏炉冬扇stoves in summer and fans in winter；夏虫不可语冰Don’t speak of ice to insects that live only one summer。
关于“秋”
秋季又名收成harvest。不劳动，不得食no pains, no gains。付出艰辛劳动，获得硕果累累。宋朝诗人程颢写过一首七绝“秋”：自古逢秋悲寂寥，我言秋日胜春朝。晴空一鹤排云上，便引诗情到碧霄。Since ancient times people are sorry for autumn/But I believe that autumn is better than spring/Bright day a crane flies high to surmount the clouds/Which leads my quality suggestive of poetry to the blue sky.
秋多少同女性有牵连。如秋波a girl’s significant glances；秋水of woman’s fluid glance；秋娘 a woman in the thirty-forties。秋天是成熟季节，故名金秋golden autumn.
有许多关于秋的成语，如秋风过耳unheeded like a passing autumnal breeze；秋风秋雨disconsolate winds and rains；千秋万岁throughout the ages；多事之秋 troubled times；秋毫无犯do not cause the slightest damage to the people； 秋扇见捐（woman）cast aside like the fan in autumn；秋高气爽The autumn sky is clear and the air is bracing；秋后算账square accounts after the autumn harvest；冬行秋令The winter weather is like autumn；望穿秋水eagerly look forward to seeing a dear one。
关于“冬”
冬季又名安宁leisure times。中国北方的冬天，冰天雪地。过去冬储蔬菜store away in winter。现在有菜篮子工程shopping basket program，再也不用冬储了。冬眠的英语是hibernation；冬笋是winter bamboo shoots；冬泳是winter swimming；冬装是winter clothes。冬虫夏草的英语是Chinese caterpillar；冬季施工是winter construction；冬季作物是winter crops。
含有“冬”字的成语不多。冬去春来Winter is past and spring has come；冬日可爱Welcome winter sun；冬暖夏凉cool in summer and warm in winter；冬烘秀才shallow village schoolmaster；头脑冬烘badly read and extremely bigoted；冬储至丰Storage of food for the winter is very abundant；冬不借衣，夏不借扇don’t borrow from a friend things which are essential for his own well-being。