年
year
HSK level
- Pinyin
- nián
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 6
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 4
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.
Memory hook: 年 traces back to a pictograph of a person carrying a harvest — one full agricultural cycle = one year.
Hear 年 in real episodes
年 appears in 4 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
2003年，这里的水果很多。
In 2003, there was a lot of fruit here.
Could Gene-Edited Trees Save Florida's Citrus Industry From Greening?
Lidl 想了很多年。
Lidl thought about it for many years.
Lidl Opens Its First Pub in Northern Ireland After Six-Year Licensing Battle Over Alcohol Laws
法院判了Yu十二年。
The court sentenced Yu to twelve years.
A Hubei Man Copies Tomb-Robbing Novels and Gets Twelve Years in Prison
六年前，马歇尔的人买了她的甜品。
Six years ago, Marshall's people bought her desserts.
A Senator Pays a Bakery Bill After Six Years and a Viral Post
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
Synonyms
Don't confuse 年 with
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 = day. Like 年, it doesn't take a measure word: 一天 (one day), 三天 (three days). Different time unit, same counting pattern.
Same pinyin family. 念 means 'to read aloud / miss someone'. 年 means 'year'. Different characters.
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 年 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 年 in 4 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.