历届

• Pinyin: lì jiè
• Hanzi breakdown: 历 = 厂 + 力 (successive); 届 = 尸 + 由 (session/term)

Meaning

All previous sessions; successive past terms or cohorts. Refers collectively to every edition or iteration that has come before the current one.

Used with elections (历届政府 = all past governments), competitions (历届冠军 = all previous champions), and academic cohorts (历届毕业生 = all past graduates). Emphasises continuity and succession across every past instance of a recurring role or event.

Examples

1. 博物馆特别展出了历届奥运会的奖牌和纪念品。 The museum put on a special display of medals and memorabilia from every past Olympic Games.
2. 学校邀请历届优秀毕业生回校，与在校学生分享创业经验。 The school invited outstanding alumni from past classes back to campus to share their entrepreneurship experience with current students.
3. 历届政府均将教育投入列为财政支出的优先项目。 Successive governments have all listed investment in education as a priority in fiscal spending.

Usage Guide

Context: history, competitions, government, alumni, records

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 历届全国代表大会的决议均已整理成册，供研究人员查阅。(The resolutions of all previous National People's Congresses have been compiled into volumes for researchers to consult.)
• 比赛组委会公布了历届获奖作品，以供本届参赛者参考借鉴。(The competition organising committee published all previous winning works for the current participants to reference and draw inspiration from.)

Don't Say

• 用'历届'指当届或本届 — 历届专指过去所有届次，当前一届应用'本届'

Origin & History

历 (successive/past one after another) + 届 (session/term/class/cohort)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal