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年 — year

Pinyin
nián · Nián
Strokes
6
HSK level
HSK 1
Handwriting
required

This character has more than one reading — nián, Nián — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.

How to write 年: 6 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.

年 — 6 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 年

Words with 年 in the HSK syllabus: 47

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 今年jīnniánthis yearHSK 1
  2. 明年míngniánnext yearHSK 1
  3. 年niányearHSK 1
  4. 去年qùniánlast yearHSK 1
  5. 过年guòniánto celebrate the Chinese New YearHSK 2
  6. 后年hòuniánthe year after nextHSK 3
  7. 年级niánjígrade; yearHSK 3
  8. 年轻niánqīngyoungHSK 3
  9. 前年qiánniánthe year before lastHSK 3
  10. 新年xīnniánNew YearHSK 3
  11. 老年lǎoniánelderly; old age; autumn of one's yearsHSK 4
  12. 年底niándǐthe end of the year; year-endHSK 4
  13. 年龄niánlíngageHSK 4
  14. 青年qīngniányouth; youthful years; young person; the youngHSK 4
  15. 少年shàoniánearly youth; youngster; youth; young manHSK 4
  16. 童年tóngniánchildhoodHSK 4
  17. 中年zhōngniánmiddle ageHSK 4
  18. 成年chéngniánto grow to adulthood; fully grown; adultHSK 5
  19. 当年dāngniánin those days; back then; in those yearsHSK 5
  20. 近年来jìnnián láifor the past few yearsHSK 5
  21. 年初niánchūbeginning of the yearHSK 5
  22. 年代niándàia decade of a century; age; era; periodHSK 5
  23. 年纪niánjìageHSK 5
  24. 年夜饭niányèfànreunion dinner on Lunar New Year's EveHSK 5
  25. 学年xuéniánacademic yearHSK 5
  26. 周年zhōuniánanniversary; annualHSK 5
  27. 拜年bàiniánto pay a New Year call; to wish sb a Happy New YearHSK 6
  28. 常年chángniánall year round; for years on end; average yearHSK 6
  29. 历年lìniáncalendar yearHSK 6
  30. 年度niándùyear; annualHSK 6
  31. 年终niánzhōngend of the yearHSK 6
  32. 往年wǎngniánin former years; in previous yearsHSK 6
  33. 未成年人wèichéngniánrénminorHSK 6
  34. 多年来duō nián láifor the past many yearsHSK 7–9
  35. 嘉年华jiāniánhuácarnivalHSK 7–9
  36. 来年láiniánnext year; the coming yearHSK 7–9
  37. 连年liánniánsuccessive years; over many yearsHSK 7–9
  38. 年报niánbàoannual report; annual publicationHSK 7–9
  39. 年画niánhuàNew Year pictureHSK 7–9
  40. 年均niánjūnannual averageHSK 7–9

And 7 more across the higher levels — the full lists are on the level pages.

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.