年
nián
grain
harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2]
a picture of 年 → a grain stalk bending under the weight of a harvest
The character originally depicted a person carrying a bundle of ripened grain stalks. Over time it shifted from 'harvest' to 'year', since a year was naturally measured by one harvest cycle.
古时候，年指的是一次收成。
gǔ shí hou， nián zhǐ de shì yī cì shōu cheng。
In ancient times, 'nián' referred to one harvest.
在很老的文字里，年字原本表示谷物丰收的意思。
zài hěn lǎo de wén zì lǐ， nián zì yuán běn biǎo shì gǔ wù fēng shōu de yì si。
In very old texts, the character 'nián' originally expressed the meaning of a good grain harvest.
Words with 年
半年
bàn nián
half a year
全年
quán nián
the whole year
周年
zhōu nián
anniversary
每年
měi nián
every year
年轻化
nián qīng huà
to make more youthful
年度
nián dù
year (e.g. school year, fiscal year)
青壮年
qīng zhuàng nián
the prime of one's life
上年
shàng nián
last year
终年
zhōng nián
entire year
一年四季
yī nián sì jì
all year round
年内
nián nèi
during the current year
闰年
rùn nián
leap year