n., m.
A ripe grain harvest carried in from the fields. A year; age; New Year; an annual cycle of time. A figure (千) carrying grain (禾) marks one full harvest cycle.
年
Common Usage & Traps
- 今年 — this year
- 明年 — next year
- 去年 — last year
- 一年 — one year
- 半年 — half a year
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一个年一年Learners bolt 个 onto everything countable. 年 already counts itself, so the number sits right next to it.
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我二十年我二十岁When you state someone's age, 岁 carries the number. 年 there means you studied or worked for twenty years.
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月日年年月日English date order is month-day-year. Chinese flips it to big-to-small, starting with 年.
Why is it 一个月 but 一年 — where did the 个 go?
年 measures itself, so it never takes 个.
Chinese counts most things with 个: 一个人, 一个月, 一个星期. But 年, 天, and 岁 already do the counting job themselves. The number sits right next to them with nothing in between. So 一年, 两年, 三年 all work, and 一个年 never does. Careful: 一月 alone means January, not "one month."
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| One year | 一年 | 一个年 |
| One month | 一个月 | 一月 (that means January) |
| Three years | 三年 | 三个年 |
| Three days | 三天 | 三个天 |
Do I say 我二十岁 or 我二十年 to give my age?
岁 counts birthday candles, 年 counts how long something lasts.
Ask 你今年几岁？ and you get a person's age. Say 我二十四岁 and every native nods. Use 年 for a span of time instead: 我学了三年中文, 我在这儿住了三年. Swap them and you accidentally claim you have lived for twenty-four years of study, or that your age is a duration.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Stating age | 他二十四岁。 | 他二十四年。 |
| Asking age | 你今年几岁？ | 你今年几年？ |
| Length of time | 我在北京住了三年。 | 我在北京住了三岁。 |
Why does Chinese write dates as 年月日 when English goes month, day, year?
Chinese stacks dates biggest to smallest: year, month, day.
Chinese gives a date the way you give an address: country, city, street, door. Year first, then month, then day, then the clock. English runs the other way, so your instinct fights you every time you fill in a form. The chant “年月日点半。” (Year, month, day, dot, half.) ── [《一二三（2）》](/read/counting-days-rhymes#s4)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Full date | 2019年5月3号 | 5月3号2019年 |
| List of units | 年月日 | 月日年 |
| Asking today's date | 今天几月几号？ | 今天几号几月？ |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
This playful poem turns numbers into a rhythm of daily life. As you read, practice counting, days of the week, and common time words in a fun, memorable way.
- Scene #1
年 月日点半。
- Scene #2
工作两三 年 ，休息四五天，读书一小时，吃饭五分钟。
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