年
nián/ni̯ɛn³⁵/
The English word 'year' is translated to Mandarin as 年 (nián). Wiktionary also lists 年頭 / 年头 (niántóu).
Meaning: time it takes for the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun (noun)
Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 年 | nián | /ni̯ɛn³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /nʲiɛn²¹/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 年頭 / 年头 | niántóu | colloquial | |
| 年 | nî, liân | /nĩ²⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Zhangpu, Penang, Sinological IPA, Taipei, General Taiwanese) /nĩ²³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Zhangpu, Penang, Sinological IPA, Kaohsiung, General Taiwanese) |
Hokkien |
年 refers to the time it takes for the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun. In certain contexts, it can also be used to refer to a person's age.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to express a duration of years, 年 acts as a measure word and is placed directly after a number, such as 三年 (three years). To create specific time expressions, you can add certain characters before 年: 去年 means 'last year' by adding 去 (past/go), 今年 means 'this year' by adding 今 (now/current) and 明年 means 'next year' by adding 明 (bright/next).
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation for 年 is nián.
Did you know?
- The word 年 is used in the name of the mythical beast called the 年 beast. Legend says this monster appears at the end of the year, which is why people set off firecrackers to scare it away.
- The character 年 was originally a picture of grain and meant 'harvest'. This is because early calendars were based on the annual crop cycle.
- In the traditional Chinese zodiac, the 'year' is represented by one of twelve animals. A person's personality is often described based on the animal of their birth 年.
Examples in context
- 蛇年开始了。The Year of the Snake has begun.This sentence is useful for discussing the start of a specific zodiac year using 年.Tatoeba #3377935 by GlossaMatik, translation #13542206 by LeviHighway
- 她去年出生。She was born last year.This sentence shows how to use 年 when referring to a past time.Tatoeba #5907629 by verdastelo9604, translation #313842 by CK
- 一年有四季。There are four seasons in one year.This sentence illustrates how to express a quantity of years using 年 as a measure word.Tatoeba #6098476 by verdastelo9604, translation #1010134 by allmarangie
- 今年This year
- 下一年Next year
- 去年Last year
- 三年Three years
- 十年Ten years
- 二零一九年The year 2019
- 一九九九年The year 1999
- 346 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A conversation between two colleagues about their work anniversary.
- 雨婷 Yuting你在这里工作几年了？Nǐ zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò jǐ nián le?How many years have you worked here?
- 俊杰 Junjie我在这里干了三年。Wǒ zài zhèlǐ gànle sān nián.I have worked here for three years.
- 雨婷 Yuting那真是很长的时间。Nà zhēnshi hěn cháng de shíjiān.That really is a long time.
- 俊杰 Junjie是啊，时间过得很快。Shì a, shíjiān guò de hěn kuài.Yes, time flies.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “year” translations and entries 年, 年, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 年, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
