年 (nián) is a Chinese character meaning “year”. It is written from 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 二 (two) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 十 (ten), and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “year”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
丿 + 二 + 丨 + 十
Overlapping structure
- 丿 left-falling stroke unknown
- 二 two · èr unknown
- 丨 vertical stroke · gǔn unknown
- 十 ten · shí unknown
Structure from: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 六笔中线核验：0 丿 / 1-2 二 / 3 丨 / 4-5 十）；未采用字源说，仅描述今字笔画分组
Memory aid
A leaning stroke 丿 sits over two lines 二 — two seasons already counted. Below, a short 丨 drops beside a big 十: ten more marks on the calendar. Tally them all and you have one 年, one year.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 去年qù niánlast year年 = niánHSK 1
- 少年shào niányouth; a teenage boy (roughly 10 to 16 years old)年 = nián
- 年份nián fènyear (a particular one)年 = nián
- 年迈nián màiaged; advanced in years年 = nián
- 每年měi niánevery year; annually年 = nián
- 虎年hǔ niánYear of the Tiger年 = nián
- 闰年rùn niánleap year年 = nián
- 青年qīng niányoung people; a young person; youth年 = nián
- 年庚nián gēnga person's age; the year, month, day and hour of someone's birth年 = nián
- 年轻nián qīngyoung年 = niánHSK 2
- 拜年bài niánto pay a New Year call; to wish someone a happy New Year年 = nián
Go deeper
All readings
year
year; age; annual; a period of twelve months
时间单位，地球绕太阳一周的时间；也指年纪、年头。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 去年qù niánlast year年 = niánHSK 1
- 少年shào niányouth; a teenage boy (roughly 10 to 16 years old)年 = nián
- 年份nián fènyear (a particular one)年 = nián
- 年迈nián màiaged; advanced in years年 = nián
- 每年měi niánevery year; annually年 = nián
- 虎年hǔ niánYear of the Tiger年 = nián
- 闰年rùn niánleap year年 = nián
- 青年qīng niányoung people; a young person; youth年 = nián
- 年庚nián gēnga person's age; the year, month, day and hour of someone's birth年 = nián
- 年轻nián qīngyoung年 = niánHSK 2
- 拜年bài niánto pay a New Year call; to wish someone a happy New Year年 = nián
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 年 mean?
年 (nián) means year; age; annual; a period of twelve months.
How do you pronounce 年?
It is pronounced nián.
What parts is 年 made of?
丿 (left-falling stroke) and 二 (two) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 十 (ten). The recorded source is: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 六笔中线核验：0 丿 / 1-2 二 / 3 丨 / 4-5 十）；未采用字源说，仅描述今字笔画分组. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 年 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 年?
干. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 年?
Common ones are 去年 and 少年. The reading of 年 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.