Xiǎng nián is a formal, respectful, and elegantly understated term used exclusively to state the age at which someone died. It literally combines xiǎng (to enjoy, to partake in) and nián (year), evoking the classical idea that the deceased 'enjoyed' a certain number of years in life — a gentle, dignified way to acknowledge mortality without blunt or somber phrasing.

This term appears almost exclusively in obituaries, memorial notices, epitaphs, and formal biographical summaries. It is never used for living people or in casual speech; doing so would sound bizarre or inappropriate. The number following xiǎng nián is always a cardinal number (e.g., 享年八十二岁), and the phrase typically appears after the person’s name and before or after other biographical details. Its tone is reverent and solemn, reflecting traditional Chinese values of respect for elders and the deceased.