A long-time friend has been your friend for years. A long-time resident has lived in that place for a long time. A long-time fan has followed a team or a singer for years.

A long-time friend has been your friend for yearslong-time friend是當了你多年的朋友。A long-time resident has lived in that place for a long timelong-time resident是在那個地方住了很久的居民。A long-time fan has followed a team or a singer for yearslong-time fan是追隨一支隊伍或一位歌手多年的粉絲。

The word sits in front of a noun and tells you that the person — or sometimes a group or a thing — has already had that role or that relationship for a long stretch. It looks back at time that has already passed. In American writing you will also see longtime as one word, with the same meaning.

The word sits in front of a noun and tells you that the person — or sometimes a group or a thing — has already had that role or that relationship for a long stretch這個詞放在名詞前面，告訴你這個人——有時候是一個團體或一件事物——已經擔任那個角色，或維持那段關係很長一段時間了。It looks back at time that has already passed它回頭看的是已經過去的時間。In American writing you will also see longtime as one word, with the same meaning在美式寫法裡也會看到longtime寫成一個字，意思相同。

This is not the same as the two separate words in I waited a long time, which only measure duration. And it is not the same as long-lost: a long-time colleague is someone who has worked with you for years; a long-lost colleague is someone you have not seen in years. Long-term is different again: that word is about how long something will last, or about the future, not about how long someone has already been a friend or a neighbour.

This is not the same as the two separate words in I waited a long time, which only measure duration這跟「I waited a long time」裡分開的兩個字不一樣，那裡只是在量時間長短。And it is not the same as long-lost也跟long-lost不一樣：a long-time colleague is someone who has worked with you for yearslong-time colleague是跟你共事多年的同事；a long-lost colleague is someone you have not seen in yearslong-lost colleague則是你好幾年沒見的同事。Long-term is different againlong-term又是另外一回事：that word is about how long something will last, or about the future這個詞講的是一件事會持續多久，或是跟未來有關，not about how long someone has already been a friend or a neighbour而不是講一個人已經當了多久的朋友或鄰居。