歳月|さいげつsaigetsu[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. noun, adverbtime; years
   移住者いじゅうしゃの部落ぶらくが野蛮やばん人にんによって征服せいふくされ、移住者いじゅうしゃの希望きぼうも生活せいかつも土壇場どたんばにきた時とき、長ながい歳月さいげつをかけての不幸ふこうとのたたかいに終止符しゅうしふがうたれた。↗

   Years of resistance to misfortune ended when the settlers' village was overcome by the savages and their hopes and lives came to the bitter end.

• Synonym日月じつげつWrittenWritten style for the sun and moon or the passing years; rather rare. 「歳月」 is the common written word, as in 「歳月人を待たず」.
• Synonym春秋しゅんじゅうFormalFormal word for a year or one's age, as in 「春秋に富む」; 「歳月」 leans toward time that has flowed by.
• Synonym年月としつきNeutralNeutral native-Japanese word for months and years, common in colloquial use; 「歳月」 is the written Sino-Japanese term.
• Synonym星霜せいそうFormalFormal word for the passing of years, used mostly as 「幾星霜」; 「歳月」 is the more common choice.
• Related烏兎うとFormalFormal; likens the sun and moon to a golden crow and jade hare for fleeting time; 「歳月」 is more common.

For time that flows by, use 「歳月」, as in 「長い歳月を経て」. For a neutral native word common in speech, choose 「年月」; 「星霜」「春秋」「烏兎」「日月」 are formal or literary alternatives.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 過ぎ行すぎゆく時間じかん。