What you will learn on this page
- The basic meaning and nuance of the kanji 「年」
- JLPT level and stroke count
- Main readings: とし (toshi), ねん (nen)
- Common words like 今年, 来年, 去年, 一年
- Easy example sentences with English translations
- Typical mistakes learners make with 「年」
1. Basic info
- Kanji: 年
- Meaning (simple): year
- JLPT level: N5
- Stroke count: 6
- On-yomi (Chinese-derived reading): ネン (nen)
- Kun-yomi (native Japanese reading): とし (toshi)
2. Easy explanation (for beginners)
The kanji 「年」 mainly means “year”.
It is used for:
- one year of time
- this year, next year, last year
- school grades and some “year-based” expressions
You see it in very common words like 今年 (this year), 来年 (next year) and 去年 (last year).
3. Readings and usage
3-1. Kun-yomi: とし (toshi)
Used when talking about a year in general or sometimes age in everyday speech.
Example sentences:
- Japanese: 今年はいい年でした。
- Reading (Kana): ことしは いい とし でした。
- English: This year was a good year.
Here, 年 is read とし and means “year”.
3-2. On-yomi: ネン (nen)
Used in compounds about years, grades and periods of time.
Example words:
- 一年【いちねん】 – one year
- 三年生【さんねんせい】 – third-year student
- 三年間【さんねんかん】 – for three years
Example sentences:
- Japanese: 日本に来て一年になります。
- Reading (Kana): にほんに きて いちねん に なります。
- English: It has been one year since I came to Japan.
- Japanese: 来年、日本語能力試験を受けます。
- Reading (Kana): らいねん、にほんご のうりょく しけんを うけます。
- English: I will take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test next year.
4. Example vocabulary list
| Kanji word | Reading | Meaning (English) |
|---|---|---|
| 年 | とし | year; age |
| 今年 | ことし | this year |
| 来年 | らいねん | next year |
| 去年 | きょねん | last year |
| 一年 | いちねん | one year (period) |
5. Example sentences
Sentence 1
- Japanese: 今年はとても忙しい年です。
- Reading (Kana): ことしは とても いそがしい とし です。
- English: This year is very busy for me.
Sentence 2
- Japanese: 来年、日本語能力試験を受けます。
- Reading (Kana): らいねん、にほんご のうりょく しけんを うけます。
- English: I will take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test next year.
Sentence 3
- Japanese: 日本に来て一年になります。
- Reading (Kana): にほんに きて いちねん に なります。
- English: It has been one year since I came to Japan.
6. Common mistakes & tips
Common mistakes
- Reading every word with 年 as only ねん, even when とし is more natural.
- Confusing 年 with 日 or 月 when reading dates.
- Not seeing the difference between 今年 / 来年 / 去年.
Study tips
- Remember this simple pattern:
- 今年（ことし） – this year
- 来年（らいねん） – next year
- 去年（きょねん） – last year
- Practice by talking about your own life:
- How many years have you studied Japanese?
- When did you come to Japan?
7. Related kanji
- 日 – “day”. Combine 日 and 年 to talk about dates and ages.
- 月 – “month”. 日 + 月 + 年 are the core kanji for talking about time.
- 時 – “time, hour”. Used together with 年 to describe events in your life.