Chinese word

年

Pronunciation

Pinyinnián

Meaning

  • nounyear

Example

我今年七岁。wǒ jīn nián qī suì

I am seven this year.

Illustration for 年 (year)

More examples

我明年要去北京。wǒ míng nián yào qù běi jīng

I will go to Beijing next year.

Core concept

A counted span from one yearly cycle to the next, used for time passed, age, or the length of an institution's history.

Common phrases

  • 今年jīn nián

    this year

  • 去年qù nián

    last year

  • 明年míng nián

    next year

  • 每年měi nián

    every year

  • 一年yì nián

    one year

Similar words

岁suì: The number of whole years a person has lived.
月yuè: One of the calendar periods that divide a year into parts.

Definition in Chinese

表示经过的年数或年龄，用来描述人、事或物累积的时间长短，也可指年度或某一年的时间段。biǎo shì jīng guò de nián shù huò nián líng yòng lái miáo shù rén shì huò wù lěi jī de shí jiān cháng duǎn yě kě zhǐ nián dù huò mǒu yì nián de shí jiān duàn

Word origin

The ancient form of 年 (nián, "year") shows a person with grain, reflecting the yearly harvest that gave the word its time cycle.

Usage tips

  • For a person's age, Chinese normally uses 岁 (suì, "years of age"), while 年 (nián, "year") is common for years of study or a company's history.

Other meanings

  • agenoun
  • financial yearnoun

Related words

Word lists with this word