年

nián

What does "年" mean in Japanese?

year

我今年三十岁。

私は今年三十歳です。

How to use "年" correctly: definitions and examples in Japanese?

正式的

A period of time equal to 365 days (or 366 in a leap year), based on the Earth's orbit around the Sun.

他已经工作了五年。

彼は五年間働いています。

今年是二零二四年。

今年は二千二十四年です。

In Chinese, 年 is used for both calendar years and durations (e.g., 学习一年).

非正式的

Age or a person's age.

你今年多大年纪？

あなたは今年おいくつですか？

Often used in questions about age.

文学的

A year's harvest or yield.

今年又是一个丰收年。

今年はまた豊作の年となった。

Common in agricultural contexts.

コロケーション

去年last year明年next year今年this year年龄age年度fiscal year

類義語

岁载

プロのヒント

Remembering the Radical

年 contains the radical 干 (gān), which originally depicted a tool or shield. Associating 年 with 'time' can be aided by thinking of the cycle of seasons (harvests) as a 'tool' of time measurement.

ゴールデンルール

Year vs. Age

Use 年 to ask about age in formal contexts (e.g., 你今年多大年纪？), but in casual speech, 岁 (suì) is more common.

語源

Pictogram of a person carrying a bundle of grain, representing the harvest cycle and later extended to mean 'year'.

使用上の注意

年 is one of the most fundamental time-related words in Chinese. It is used in dates, age references, and annual events. In Japanese, 年 (とし/ねん) is similarly versatile but often pronounced differently depending on context (e.g., 今年=ことし, 来年=らいねん).

単語の分解

人 (rén)

person

root

干 (gān)

tool or shield