【年】(nen, toshi/ year) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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In this time, I will introduce the Kanji character 年.

How to read

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are
・ねん　nen

For example,
・一年　いちねん　ichi-nen
It means a year

・年号　ねんごう　nen-gou
It is Japan’s imperial era name

・年齢　ねんれい　nen-rei
It means age

・去年　きょねん　kyo-nen
It means last year

・昨年　さくねん　saku-nen
It means last year
This is a formal expression

・例年　れいねん　rei-nen
It means average year

and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next, the kun-reading is
・とし　toshi

For example,
・今年　ことし　kotoshi
It means this year

・お年寄り　おとしより　o-toshi-yo-ri
It means elderly person

and so on.

③ Special reading

This kanji has no special reading.

Meanings

Next is the meaning of the kanji for 年.
This kanji is used in the next meanings
・year

Radical

And the radical of this character is 干　kan, hosu
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

There is no family name that uses the kanji character "年", which is widely used in Japan

Personal name

These are the most common personal names using the Kanji for 年
・千年　ちとせ、ちとし　Chitoshe, Chitoshi
・年雄　としお　Toshio
・年光　としみつ　Toshimitsu

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 年
・黒沢 年雄　くろさわとしお　Kurosawa Toshio
He is an actor.

Place

Next, I will introduce place names and tourist attractions that use the Chinese character for 年.
・二年坂、三年坂　ninenzaka, sannenzaka
This is a slope in Kyoto. It is a wonderful place to feel old Japan with old-fashioned buildings lining both sides.

Look-alikes

Here are some kanji that are similar to 年
・手　しゅ、て　shu, te
It means hand

・午　ご　go
It means noon

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

Tags

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