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HSK 1

年

year

nounneutral
年
nián2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
nián
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
6
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 年

年 is written with 6 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 年 mean?

年 (nián) means 'year' — the unit of time — and unlike most Chinese nouns it does NOT take a separate measure word.

年 is both the noun and its own counter: 一年 (one year), 两年 (two years), 十年 (ten years). The same rule applies to 天 (day), 月 (month for duration), and 周 (week). 年 also names the year itself in dates: 2024年 (the year 2024) is read 'èr líng èr sì nián'. Three usage notes for English speakers.

First, '...年级' means 'grade in school' (三年级 'third grade'). Second, 年 appears in many time expressions: 今年 (this year), 去年 (last year), 明年 (next year), 每年 (every year). Third, 过年 (guò nián) means 'celebrate Chinese New Year' — culturally the most important meaning of 年 for any Mandarin learner.

Example sentences

今年我二十岁。

Jīnnián wǒ èrshí suì.

I'm twenty years old this year.

neutral

我在北京住了三年。

Wǒ zài Běijīng zhù le sān nián.

I've lived in Beijing for three years.

neutral

明年我去中国。

Míngnián wǒ qù Zhōngguó.

Next year I'm going to China.

spoken

今年是2024年。

Jīnnián shì èr líng èr sì nián.

This year is 2024.

neutral

Common phrases with 年

今年jīnniánthis year
去年qùniánlast year
明年míngniánnext year
每年měi niánevery year
过年guò niáncelebrate (Chinese) New Year

Synonyms

岁suì

岁 is for AGE in years ('I am 25 岁'). 年 is for DURATION or the YEAR ITSELF ('I lived there 5 年'; 2024 年). Wrong word = wrong meaning: 我五岁 means 'I am 5 years old', 我五年 is ungrammatical alone.

Don't confuse 年 with

岁suì

岁 (years old, for age) vs. 年 (year, for time spans/dates). Beginners mix these up constantly: 我今年二十岁 (this year I am 20 years old) uses both correctly.

天tiān

天 = day. Like 年, it doesn't take a measure word: 一天 (one day), 三天 (three days). Different time unit, same counting pattern.

念niàn

Same pinyin family. 念 means 'to read aloud / miss someone'. 年 means 'year'. Different characters.

FAQ

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