年 — “year” in Japanese

Grade 1ねん, とし

Radical ⼲ · radical 51 The building block this kanji is filed under

“year” in Japanese is 年, read nen, toshi (ねん, とし). It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 今年 (this year).

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What does 年 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	年
Meaning	year
Readings	ねん, とし
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	今年 (this year)

How to read 年

年 is read nen (ねん) or toshi (とし) depending on the word.

Words with 年

来年らいねん
長年ながねん
毎年まいとし
百年ひゃくねん
今年ことし
一年いちねん
近年きんねん
何年なんねん
平年へいねん
七年しちねん

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Kanji read the same way as 年

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28