年 — Kanji Reference

年 (year): 6 strokes, JLPT N5. On: ネン. Kun: とし.

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年

Property Value
Meaning year
Strokes 6
JLPT Level N5
On-reading (音読み) ネン
Kun-reading (訓読み) とし
Radical 干 (かん - dry/shield) [U+5E72]

Stroke Order

The kanji 年 is written in 6 strokes. Follow the standard rule of top-to-bottom and left-to-right:

  1. Stroke 1: The short horizontal line at the top (left to right).
  2. Stroke 2: The vertical line starting from the top center, moving downward.
  3. Stroke 3: The short horizontal line below the first one.
  4. Stroke 4: The long horizontal line at the base.
  5. Stroke 5: The vertical line starting from the top, crossing the middle horizontal lines.
  6. Stroke 6: The final long vertical line on the right side.

Radical Analysis

The radical for 年 is 干 (かん), which originally depicted a shield or a pestle. In this character, the structure represents a person carrying a bundle of grain (the lower part) on their back, symbolizing the harvest cycle. Over time, this evolved to represent the passing of one full agricultural cycle—a year.

Mnemonic

Imagine a year as a harvest cycle. The top part looks like a person with a heavy load on their back, and the bottom horizontal lines represent the fields. Every time the farmer finishes carrying the harvest (the 6 strokes), a full year has passed!

On-readings (音読み) with Examples

ネン (Nen)

Word Reading Romaji English
来年 らいねん rainen next year
去年 きょねん kyonen last year
毎年 まいとし / まいねん maitoshi / mainen every year
年間 ねんかん nenkan period of a year

Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples

とし (Toshi)

Word Reading Romaji English
年上 としうえ toshiue older
年下 とした toshita younger
年寄り としより toshiyori elderly person

JLPT N5 Words Using 年

Word Reading Romaji English JLPT
今年 ことし kotoshi this year N5
来年 らいねん rainen next year N5
去年 きょねん kyonen last year N5
毎年 まいとし maitoshi every year N5
年生 ねんせい nensei grade level N5
何年 なんねん nannen what year N5
年間 ねんかん nenkan year-long N4
年賀状 ねんがじょう nengajou New Year's card N4

Example Sentences

Japanese Reading Romaji English
今年は忙しいです。 ことしは いそがしいです。 Kotoshi wa isogashii desu. This year is busy.
去年、日本へ行きました。 きょねん、 にほんへ いきました。 Kyonen, Nihon e ikimashita. I went to Japan last year.
私は大学二年生です。 わたしは だいがく にねんせいです。 Watashi wa daigaku ninensei desu. I am a second-year university student.
毎年、家族と旅行します。 まいとし、 かぞくと りょこうします。 Maitoshi, kazoku to ryokou shimasu. Every year, I travel with my family.
来年はもっと勉強します。 らいねんは もっと べんきょうします。 Rainen wa motto benkyou shimasu. I will study more next year.
彼は私より年上です。 かれは わたしより としうえです。 Kare wa watashi yori toshiue desu. He is older than me.

Common Confusion Pairs

Kanji Reading Meaning How to distinguish
年 ねん Year Has a distinct vertical line crossing the horizontal base.
午 ご Noon The vertical line does not extend through the top; it is the character for "noon/horse."

Usage Frequency Note

年 is one of the most frequently used kanji in the Japanese language. It appears daily in news, dates, school grades, and age references. It is essential for basic communication and is one of the first kanji taught to beginners.