年 (nián) · year

Meanings

1 year

Characters

年

nián

year

Examples

HSK 1

今年是二〇二六年。

Jīnnián shì èr líng èr liù nián.

This year is 2026.

HSK 1

我学了三年中文。

Wǒ xué le sān nián Zhōngwén.

I have studied Chinese for three years.

HSK 2

新年快乐！

Xīnnián kuàilè!

Happy New Year!

Tips

culture

年 is also the name of a mythological beast (年兽) from Chinese legend. People used firecrackers and red decorations to scare it away, which became the traditions of Chinese New Year.

Components

radical

干 gān

dry; pole; shield radical

The three strokes that cross through the body form the 干 radical, which is how xinhua files 年. Originally 年 pictured a person bowed under a sheaf; in the simplified silhouette the load and the bearer have visually merged into the 干 pole-shape running through the centre.

ideograph

年 nián

year; harvest cycle (fused upper-body)

Wrap-around top-and-side strokes function as a fused stylized silhouette enveloping the bottom 干; no longer split into standalone CJK pieces in the modern form. Historically a remainder of the older 秂, where a person carried a sheaf of grain on the back - the harvest-cycle origin of 'year'.