Kanji 年: year, counter for years
Key takeaways
Kanji 年: year, counter for years. Readings and core meaning.
See vocabulary and examples below.
Kanji at a glance
Core meaning / core image
Core meaning: 年
year, counter for years
Kanji structure breakdown
Mnemonic story
Mnemonic story
Imagine counting the years spent in battle by carving a slash (丿) into a shield (干). Originally, the character depicted a person carrying harvested rice on their back, representing the completion of an annual cycle. It is frequently used in common words like 'every year' and 'school year'.
