How is 「年目」 used?


I encountered this sentence today: 「付き合って５ **年目** に結婚することにしました。」

What does 「年目」 mean here, and why is 「目」 attached to 「年」?

Would the sentence still have the same meaning if we use only 「年」 instead of
「年目」?




> What does 「年目」 mean here, and why is 「目」 attached to 「年」?

目 indicates the number is ordinal instead of cardinal. That is, 五年目=5th year.
五年=5 years.

> Would the sentence still have the same meaning if we use only 「年」 instead of
> 「年目」?

No. It would be possible to say 付き合って五年 **で** 結婚することにしました though I feel it is
slightly less natural.




> What does 「年目」 mean here, and why is 「目」 attached to 「年」?

目 indicates the number is ordinal instead of cardinal. That is, 五年目=5th year.
五年=5 years.

> Would the sentence still have the same meaning if we use only 「年」 instead of
> 「年目」?

No. It would be possible to say 付き合って五年 **で** 結婚することにしました though I feel it is
slightly less natural.

