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年
Character learning workspace

nián · year

Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.

HSK 2.0 · Level 1HSK 3.0 · Level 1Frequency #79
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Learn every stroke in 年

Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.

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Stroke graphics: Make Me a Hanzi / Arphic Public License
Step-by-step explorer

See how 年 is constructed

Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.

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Character anatomy

Understand the reusable parts

The decomposition shows how the visual pieces fit together, not necessarily the character’s historical origin.

年
Complete decomposition unavailableThis character is currently indexed as a single visual form.
Writing notes

Shape and proportion

6Total strokes

Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.

Single-componentCharacter structure

Keep the whole form centered inside the writing square.

干Key radical

Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.

Print and practise

Download a 年 writing sheet

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Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.

Vocabulary in context

Common words with 年

Open a word for its full breakdown, or listen before reading the meaning.

niánWords pronounced nián
Read and listen

Example sentences

Notice where 年 sits in each complete thought.

Wǒ bà hé qù nián bǐ lǎo le bù shǎo.我爸和去年比老了不少。

My father aged a lot since last year.

Source: Tatoeba #10268545 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Zài wǒ de dān wèi, wǒ shì zuì nián qīng de.在我的单位，我是最年轻的。

I'm the youngest in my department.

Source: Tatoeba #785378 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Tā de nián líng shì tā de liǎng bèi.他的年龄是她的两倍。

He is twice as old as she is.

Source: Tatoeba #1415824 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Wǒ shì qù nián rènshi tā de.我是去年认识他的。

I got acquainted with him last year.

Source: Tatoeba #788579 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Qù nián tā de bàba sǐ le.去年他的爸爸死了。

His father died last year.

Source: Tatoeba #661540 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Nǐ tài nián qīng le, hái bù néng zuò zhège.你太年轻了，还不能做这个。

You're too young to be doing that.

Source: Tatoeba #10365690 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 年 in context

  1. Say nián, then recall the core meaning: year.
  2. Write all 6 strokes while keeping the single-component balanced.
  3. Use it in 今年 (jīn nián), meaning “this year”.
  4. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 年 works in that context.

Definitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.