年 (nián): year, CL:個|个, grain
年 (nián) is a Chinese character meaning “year.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 干 (structural). It ranks #45 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 年 a man 干 carrying grain, representing the annual harvest. Its radical form 干 (dry) appears in many related characters such as 干 (gān, dry), 平 (píng, flat), 并 (bìng, and).
Definitions
- year
- CL:個|个
- grain
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 干 carrying grain, representing the annual harvest
Stroke Order
Practice writing 年 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 年
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 年轻adjective | nián qīng | young | 3 |
| 去年noun | qù nián | last year | 1 |
| 年代noun | nián dài | a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties) | 5 |
| 年级noun | nián jí | grade | 3 |
| 年纪noun | nián jì | age | 5 |
| 年龄noun | nián líng | (a person's) age | 4 |
| 明年noun | míng nián | next year | 1 |
| 周年noun | zhōu nián | anniversary | 5 |
| 新年noun | xīn nián | New Year | 3 |
| 当年noun | dāng nián | in those days | 5 |
| 年度noun | nián dù | year (e.g. school year, fiscal year) | 6 |
| 少年noun | shào nián | early youth | 4 |
| 童年noun | tóng nián | childhood | 4 |
| 青年noun | qīng nián | youth | 4 |
| 中年noun | zhōng nián | middle age | 4 |
| 成年 | chéng nián | to grow to adulthood | 5 |
| 未成年人noun | wèi chéng nián rén | minor (i.e. person under 18) | 6 |
| 老年noun | lǎo nián | elderly | 4 |
| 年夜饭noun | nián yè fàn | reunion dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve (Chinese New Year tradition) | 5 |
| 学年noun | xué nián | academic year | 5 |
| 年底noun | nián dǐ | the end of the year | 4 |
| 往年noun | wǎng nián | in former years | 6 |
| 前年noun | qián nián | the year before last | 3 |
| 年终 | nián zhōng | end of the year | 6 |
| 过年verb | guò nián | to celebrate the Chinese New Year | 2 |
| 常年adverb/noun | cháng nián | all year round | 6 |
| 近年来 | jìn nián lái | for the past few years | 5 |
| 年初noun | nián chū | beginning of the year | 5 |
| 拜年verb | bài nián | to pay a New Year call | 6 |
| 历年noun | lì nián | calendar year | 6 |
| 后年noun | hòu nián | the year after next | 3 |
年 appears in 100 compound words: 44 as the first character, 54 as the last, and 2 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 年 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (32)
Showing 12 of 32 idioms containing 年.
Example Sentences
这个年字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě nián zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "年" is related to its radical.
当年轻人成为过年“主理人”,让团圆找到新载体
dāng nián qīng rén chéng wéi guò nián zhǔ lǐ rén , ràng tuán yuán zhǎo dào xīn zài tǐ
When young people become the "managers" of the New Year, let the reunion find a new carrier
年味上墙!静安这幅“邻里新画卷”,让老小区...
nián wèi shàng qiáng ! jìng ān zhè fú lín lǐ xīn huà juǎn , ràng lǎo xiǎo qū . . .
New Year's flavor on the wall! Jing'an's "new picture of the neighborhood" makes the old community...
“泉”在济南过大年丨烟火年味浓!济南芙蓉街客流持续..
quán zài jì nán guò dà nián 丨 yān huǒ nián wèi nóng ! jì nán 芙 蓉 jiē kè liú chí xù . .
"Spring" celebrates the New Year in Jinan丨Fireworks have a strong New Year's flavor! Jinan Furong Street passenger flow continues:
西藏:马年新春 马上过年
xī zàng : mǎ nián xīn chūn mǎ shàng guò nián
Tibet: The New Year of the Horse is coming soon
马年“识局”6 | 不想当“跛脚鸭”,特朗普...
mǎ nián shí jú 6 bù xiǎng dāng 跛 jiǎo yā , tè lǎng pǔ . . .
Year of the Horse "Knowing the Situation" 6 | Don't want to be a "lame duck", Trump...
你能猜到我的年龄吗？
Nǐ néng cāi dào wǒ de niánlíng ma?
Can you guess my age?
小王，你是哪年生的？
Xiǎo Wáng, nǐ shì nǎ nián shēng de?
Wang, what year were you born?
过了这么多年，不知道她还认得我吗？
Guo le zhème duō nián, bù zhīdào tā hái rènde wǒ ma?
I wonder if she'll recognize me after all these years.
你对于现在的年轻人有什么看法？
Nǐ duìyú xiànzài de niánqīngrén yǒu shénme kànfǎ?
What do you think about young people today?
Character Family
干 Radical Family — Characters sharing the dry radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 年 (nián) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 年?
What are the components of 年?
What are common words containing 年?
What characters sound the same as 年 (nián)?
Is 年 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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