年
nián
- Pinyin
- nián
- Pinyin (Plain)
- nian
- Tone
- 2
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 干
- Readings
- niánnianTone: 2surname NianOrder: 0Primary
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 383 704 Q 387 722 447 795 Q 457 808 443 824 Q 401 861 373 859 Q 360 856 362 841 Q 371 739 255 617 Q 239 610 206 569 Q 196 553 213 557 Q 232 560 258 578 Q 328 629 374 691 L 383 704 Z", "M 540 678 Q 732 714 742 721 Q 752 730 747 739 Q 740 752 708 761 Q 681 767 571 735 Q 480 714 395 707 Q 386 706 383 704 C 359 698 359 698 374 691 Q 425 666 459 665 Q 469 666 483 668 L 540 678 Z", "M 569 502 Q 576 505 723 521 Q 735 520 744 532 Q 745 545 722 556 Q 683 580 599 554 Q 584 553 570 547 L 513 535 Q 455 525 402 520 Q 371 519 338 513 C 308 508 334 461 363 467 Q 430 480 513 494 L 569 502 Z", "M 338 513 Q 320 523 301 529 Q 288 533 278 527 Q 271 521 278 506 Q 294 481 303 453 Q 310 426 326 323 C 331 293 371 296 368 326 Q 362 386 363 467 C 363 497 363 500 338 513 Z", "M 566 300 Q 683 327 910 303 Q 935 299 941 308 Q 950 321 937 335 Q 864 401 799 379 Q 699 361 566 347 L 511 341 Q 426 337 368 326 L 326 323 Q 295 322 272 317 Q 197 307 86 306 Q 71 306 70 294 Q 69 281 88 266 Q 133 233 171 245 Q 190 252 265 263 Q 421 296 510 297 L 566 300 Z", "M 508 -43 Q 514 -71 521 -81 Q 527 -88 535 -86 Q 550 -77 559 -12 Q 569 78 567 166 Q 566 205 566 300 L 566 347 Q 566 414 569 502 L 570 547 Q 571 580 583 630 Q 587 649 571 659 Q 553 672 540 678 C 514 693 469 694 483 668 Q 483 664 499 640 Q 512 613 513 535 L 513 494 Q 512 425 511 341 L 510 297 Q 498 66 508 -43 Z"]
- Meaning
- The Chinese character “年” primarily means “year,” a unit of time used to count age, dates, or periods (e.g., 一年 “one year,” 年龄 “age”). It can also refer to the New Year or the yearly harvest/agrarian cycle in some contexts (e.g., 过年 “celebrate the New Year,” 丰年 “a year of good harvest”).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 3/24/2026, 7:18:01 PM
Usage
The character 年 (nián) most commonly means “year” and is one of the first characters learners encounter. It appears in dates and age expressions, for example: 今年 (this year), 去年 (last year), 明年 (next year), and 我二十岁了 (I am 20 years old), where 岁 is “years of age” but is often learned together with 年. Learners quickly see it in fixed patterns like 每年 (every year), 年年 (year after year), and in talking about school or work cycles, as in 学年 (school year) and 年终 (end of the year). It also shows up in basic time-related phrases: 一年 (one year), 多年 (many years), and 年前/年后 (before/after the year, often referring to the New Year period). Another very common context is holidays and celebrations, especially Chinese New Year. 年 by itself in daily conversation often refers to the Lunar New Year period, as in 过年 (to celebrate/spend Chinese New Year) and 新年快乐 (Happy New Year). Learners also encounter it in words for age or seniority, such as 年纪/年纪大 (age / older), 老年人 (elderly people), and 中年人 (middle-aged people). Overall, in modern learning materials 年 is strongly linked with talking about calendar years, ages, and the New Year festival, and is used mainly as a noun, sometimes as part of set phrases that give it a slightly broader “year/time/age” sense.
Handwriting Notes
年 is a compact, roughly square character that tends to feel slightly wider than tall in everyday handwriting. Visually, learners can think of it as a “stacked” structure: a short horizontal element on top, a central horizontal line with a small hook-like element beneath it, and a broader base that stabilizes the whole shape. In neat handwriting, these parts are well aligned vertically so the character doesn’t lean or stretch too much in any direction, helping it remain easily recognizable even at small sizes. In actual handwritten use, people vary the length and angle of the horizontal strokes, and the small central element can look more like a curve or a simplified hook depending on writing speed. Some writers compress the middle area so that the top and bottom appear closer together, while others elongate the base to make the character feel more grounded. Printed fonts keep 年 very regular and geometric, but cursive or fast handwriting may connect or slightly merge the inner parts, as long as the overall “stacked” silhouette is preserved. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained to handle these natural variations, identifying 年 from different personal styles, stroke thicknesses, and levels of neatness so that what you write by hand can be correctly recognized as this character.
Description
年 is a common Chinese character meaning “year,” referring to a calendar year or age. It is used in dates, to talk about someone’s age, and in many words related to time, such as 明年 (next year) and 今年 (this year).