年

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See also: 秊, ヰ, and 𡕒
年 U+5E74, 年
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5E74
← 平
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 幵 →
年 U+F98E, 年
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F98E
← 轢
 		CJK Compatibility Ideographs 憐 →

Translingual

Stroke order
6 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

年 (Kangxi radical 51, 干+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 人手 (OQ), four-corner 80500, composition ⿱𠂉㐄 or ⿻午⿱一丨 or ⿻午丄)

Derived characters

References

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

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 年
alternative forms
秂
秊
䄹
𰨝
𠡦
秂
秊
䄹
𰨝
𠡦
𠦅
𠦚
䄭
𦼌
𠬋
𠫺
 

Glyph origin

In the oracle bone script and early bronze inscriptions, it was originally 秂, an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) and phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *niːŋ) : semantic 禾 (“wheat; grain”) + phonetic 人 (OC *njin, “person”) – a person carrying wheat on his back – harvest.

In bronze inscriptions after the Western Zhou period, a stroke was often added to 人 to give 千 (OC *sn̥ʰiːn), which still acted as a phonetic component, and this form (秊) was inherited by later scripts. The current form is inherited from the clerical script, where libian (隸變) has occurred.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ni(ː)ŋ ~ s-nik (“year”).

Pronunciation

Note:
  • ning2 - vernacular;
  • neng2 - literary.
Note:
  • nî - vernacular;
  • liân - literary.
Note: hin5 - Chaoyang (in some compounds).
    • (Leizhou)
      • Leizhou Pinyin: hi5 / nieng5
      • Sinological IPA: /hi²²/, /nieŋ²²/
Note:
  • hi5 - vernacular;
  • nieng5 - literary.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 年
Mandarin Beijing /nian³⁵/
Harbin /nian²⁴/
Tianjin /nian⁴⁵/
Jinan /ȵiã⁴²/
Qingdao /niã⁴²/
Zhengzhou /nian⁴²/
Xi'an /niã²⁴/
Xining /ȵiã²⁴/
Yinchuan /nian⁵³/
Lanzhou /ȵiɛ̃n⁵³/
Ürümqi /ȵian⁵¹/
Wuhan /niɛn²¹³/
Chengdu /ȵian³¹/
Guiyang /nian²¹/
Kunming /niɛ̃³¹/
Nanjing /lien²⁴/
Hefei /liĩ⁵⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /nie¹¹/
Pingyao /ȵie̞¹³/
Hohhot /nie³¹/
Wu Shanghai /ȵi²³/
Suzhou /ȵiɪ¹³/
Hangzhou /ȵiẽ̞²¹³/
Wenzhou /ȵi³¹/
Hui Shexian /ne⁴⁴/
Tunxi /ȵiɛ⁴⁴/
Xiang Changsha /ȵiẽ¹³/
Xiangtan /ȵiẽ¹²/
Gan Nanchang /ȵiɛn⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /ŋian¹¹/
Taoyuan /ŋien¹¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /nin²¹/
Nanning /nin²¹/
Hong Kong /nin²¹/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /lian³⁵/
/ni³⁵/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /nieŋ⁵³/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /niŋ³³/
Shantou (Teochew) /nĩ⁵⁵/
Haikou (Hainanese) /nin³¹/
/hi³¹/
Rime
Character 年
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 泥 (8)
Final (韻) 先 (85)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) IV
Fanqie 奴顚切
Baxter nen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/nen/
Pan
Wuyun 		/nen/
Shao
Rongfen 		/nɛn/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/nɛn/
Li
Rong 		/nen/
Wang
Li 		/nien/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/nien/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		nián
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		nin4
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 年
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		nián
Middle
Chinese 		‹ nen ›
Old
Chinese 		/*C.nˁi/
English harvest; year

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 年
Reading # 1/1
No. 9482
Phonetic
component 		秊
Rime
group 		眞
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese 		/*niːŋ/
Notes 同秊

Definitions

年

  1. year (in generic contexts)
    明年  ―  míngnián  ―  next year
    2012年  ―  2012 nián  ―  the year of 2012
  2. harvest
    豐年／丰年  ―  fēngnián  ―  year with a good harvest
  3. annual
    年報／年报  ―  niánbào  ―  annual report
  4. age
    年滿二十／年满二十  ―  nián mǎn èrshí  ―  to reach twenty years of age
    延年益壽／延年益寿  ―  yánniányìshòu  ―  to prolong life
  5. period of life
    童年  ―  tóngnián  ―  childhood
  6. period (in history)
    清朝末年  ―  Qīngcháo mònián  ―  last years of the Qing dynasty
  7. Chinese New Year
    過年／过年  ―  guònián  ―  to spend the Chinese New Year
  8. things for the Chinese New Year
    年糕  ―  niángāo  ―  nian gao
    年貨／年货  ―  niánhuò  ―  New Year purchases
  9. Classifier for years.
    兩年前／两年前 [Cantonese]  ―  loeng5 nin4 cin4   ―  two years ago
  10. a surname
    年羹堯／年羹尧  ―  Nián Gēngyáo  ―  Nian Gengyao

Usage notes

  • 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.

See also

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (年):
  • → Japanese: 年(ねん) (nen)
  • → Korean: 년(年) (nyeon)
  • → Vietnamese: niên (年)

Others:

References

Japanese

Kanji

年

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
年
ねん
Grade: 1
on'yomi

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

Pronunciation

Counter

年(ねん) • (-nen) 

  1. years
Derived terms
Japanese number-counter combinations for 年(ねん) (nen)
1 2 3 4 5
一(いち)年(ねん) (ichinen) 二(に)年(ねん) (ninen) 三(さん)年(ねん) (sannen) 四(よ)年(ねん) (yonen) 五(ご)年(ねん) (gonen)
6 7 8 9 10
六(ろく)年(ねん) (rokunen) 七(なな)年(ねん) (nananen)
七(しち)年(ねん) (shichinen) 		八(はち)年(ねん) (hachinen) 九(きゅう)年(ねん) (kyūnen)
九(く)年(ねん) (kunen) 		十(じゅう)年(ねん) (jūnen)
100 1,000 10,000 How many?
What year?
百(ひゃく)年(ねん) (hyakunen) 千(せん)年(ねん) (sennen) 一(いち)万(まん)年(ねん) (ichimannen) 何(なん)年(ねん) (nannen)

Noun

年(ねん) • (nen) 

  1. a year
    年(ねん)に一(いち)度(ど)
    nen ni ichido
    once a year

Suffix

年(ねん) • (-nen) 

  1. a grade, a school year
    彼(かれ)は中(ちゅう)学(がく) ２(に)年(ねん)だ。
    Kare wa chūgaku ni-nen da.
    He's in the second year in junior high school.
    • 1984 February 15, Motoka Murakami, “１(いち)年(ねん)１(いち)組(くみ)の六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)と嵐(らん)子(こ)の巻(まき) [Class-1 Freshmen, Musashi and Ranko]”, in 六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)の剣(けん) [Musashi’s Sword], volume 13 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, pages 142–144:
      な、なんだおまえら⁉
      Na, nan da o-maera⁉
      Wh-Who the hell are you!?
      １(いち)年(ねん) １(いち)組(くみ)っ‼ 夏(なつ)木(き)六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)ぃ‼
      Ichi-nen ichi-kumi'‼ Natsuki Musashī‼
      Class-1 freshman!! Musashi Natsuki!!
      同(おな)じく轟(とどろき)嵐(らん)子(こ)！
      Onajiku Todoroki Ranko!
      Same here, Ranko Todoroki!
  2. a year
    2008(にせんはち)年(ねん)に橋(はし)を建(けん)設(せつ)し始(はじ)めるようだ。
    Nisenhachi-nen ni hashi o kensetsu shi hajimeru yō da.
    It seems like they will start constructing the bridge in (the year) 2008.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
年
とし
Grade: 1
kun'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of 年 – see the following entry.
【とし】
(obsolete) grain, particularly rice
(obsolete) a grain harvest, a grain crop
a year
age
(specifically) used to describe the age of someone who should not do things inappropriate for their age
Alternative spelling
歳
(This term, 年, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
年
とせ
Grade: 1
kun'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of 年 – see the following entry.
【とせ】
(obsolete) used to count years
【とせトセ】
a unisex given name
(This term, 年, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 年 (MC nen).

Historical readings

Pronunciation

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

年 (eumhun 해 년 (hae nyeon), word-initial (South Korea) 해 연 (hae yeon))

  1. hanja form? of 년/연 (“year”)

Compounds

Compounds

References

  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Vietnamese

Han character

年: Hán Việt readings: niên[1][2][3]
年: Nôm readings: năm[1][2][3][4], nên[1][2][3], niên[1][2][4], niền[2]

  1. chữ Hán form of niên (“year”).
  2. Nôm form of năm (“year”).

Compounds

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Nguyễn (2014).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Nguyễn et al. (2009).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Trần (2004).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hồ (1976).
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