Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

年 (radical 51 干+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 人手 (OQ), four-corner 8050₀)

References

• KangXi: page 340, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9168
• Dae Jaweon: page 648, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 37, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5E74

Chinese

Glyph origin

The older form of 年, 秊, is a combination of 禾, which means grain or rice and the phonetic element 千 (qiān), which indicates extension. The meaning went from person wading through crops in harvesting to harvest and then to year because of the harvest after a long cycle.

Pronunciation

Definitions

年

1. year (in generic contexts)
2. harvest
3. annual
4. age
5. period of life
6. period (in history)
7. New Year
8. things for the New Year
9. Classifier for years.
10. A surname​.

Usage note

Although 年 is the generic term for year, years of age are typically expressed in 歲／岁 (suì), a separate system based on the duodecennial orbital period of Jupiter. Ages in 歲／岁 (suì) are traditionally reckoned using the Chinese lunar calendar, beginning with 1 at the moment of birth and increasing not during birthdays but at the Chinese New Year.

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: ねん (nen)
• Kan’on: でん (den) (non-Jōyō reading)
• Kun: とし (toshi), とせ (tose)

Compounds

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 年 ‎(nen, “year”). Compare modern Mandarin reading nián, Hakka nyên, Cantonese nin⁴.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) ね​ん [néꜜǹ] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [nẽ̞ɴ]

Counter

年 ‎(hiragana ねん, romaji -nen)

1. years

Noun

年 ‎(hiragana ねん, romaji nen)

1. a year

   年 (ねん)に一度 (いちど)

   nen ni ichido

   once a year

Suffix

年 ‎(hiragana ねん, romaji -nen)

1. a grade, a school year

   彼 (かれ)は中学２ (ちゅうがくに)年 (ねん)だ。

   Kare wa chūgaku ni-nen da.

   He's in the second grade in junior high school.

2. a year

   ２００８ (にせんはち)年 (ねん)に橋 (はし)を建設 (けんせつ)し始 (はじ)めるようだ。

   Ni sen hachi-nen ni hashi o kensetsu shihajimeru yō da.

   They seem to be going to start constructing the bridge in (the year) 2008.

Etymology 2

/to₂si/ → /tosi/ → /toɕi/

From Old Japanese. Originally referred to grain, particularly rice, and by extension, the year's harvest.^[2]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) とし​ [tòshíꜜ] (Odaka - [2])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [to̞ɕi]

Alternative forms

• 歳

Noun

年 ‎(hiragana とし, romaji toshi)

1. (obsolete) grain, particularly rice
2. (obsolete) a grain harvest, a grain crop
3. a year
4. age

Derived terms

• 年神 (としがみ) ‎(Toshigami): the spirit or god of the year
• 年 (とし)を取 (と)る ‎(toshi o toru): to pass New Years; to age

Etymology 3

/to₂se/ → /tose/

From Old Japanese.^[2] Likely a shift in pronunciation from toshi.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [to̞se̞]

Suffix

年 ‎(hiragana とせ, romaji -tose)

1. (obsolete) used to count years
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 5, poem 880), text :

     阿麻社迦留 (あまざかる)、比奈尓伊都 (ひなにいつ)'等世 (とせ)、周麻比都都 (すまひつつ)、美夜故能提夫利 (みやこのてぶり)、和周良延尓家利 (わすらえにけり)

     Amazakaru, hina ni itsu tose, sumahitsutsu, miyako no teburi, wasuraenikeri

     While living five years in the far-remote countryside, I wound up forgetting the manners of the capital

References

1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Hanja

年 • ‎(nyeon, yeon)
Eumhun:

• Sound (hangeul): 년, 연 (revised: nyeon, yeon, McCune-Reischauer: nyŏn, yŏn, Yale: nyen, ⁿyen)

• Name (hangeul): 해, 해 (revised: hae, hae, McCune-Reischauer: hae, hae, Yale: hay, hay)

1. year

Counter

年 • ‎(nyeon) ‎(hangeul 년)

1. year

Compounds

• 閏年 (윤년, yunnyeon)
• 學年 (학년, haknyeon)

Vietnamese

Han character

年 (nên, năm, niên)

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