Meet 年 in words about years and calendar expressions. The examples connect each reading to a useful everyday context.

The idea

年 has 6 strokes; follow their order in the linked diagram. Read 今年（ことし） and 来年（らいねん） as complete words, because a character’s pronunciation depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
今年ことしI will study Japanese this year.
来年らいねんI will go to university next year.
去年きょねんI went to Kyoto last year.
毎年まいとしEvery year I see the cherry blossoms in spring.
年としA new year has begun.
一年いちねんI go to the sea once a year.

Examples

  • 今年ことしは日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうします。I will study Japanese this year.
  • 去年きょねんは京都きょうとに行いきました。I went to Kyoto last year.
  • 来年らいねんは大学だいがくへ行いきます。I will go to university next year.
  • 毎年まいとし春はるに桜さくらを見みます。Every year I see the cherry blossoms in spring.
  • 新あたらしい年としが始はじまりました。A new year has begun.
  • 一年いちねんに一度いちど、海うみへ行いきます。I go to the sea once a year.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

今年 is read ことし as a whole. 年 is とし in 新しい年 but ねん in 来年. Compare the shape of 年 with 午.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 今年 in hiragana. 「今年は日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうします。」

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    ことし

    今年 is read ことし. In the example: I will study Japanese this year. Here it means “this year”.

  2. Write the reading of 来年 in hiragana. 「来年は大学だいがくへ行いきます。」

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    らいねん

    来年 is read らいねん. In the example: I will go to university next year. Here it means “next year”.

  3. Write the missing kanji: 今＿［年／午］（ことし）.

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    年

    年 completes 今年, read ことし. In the example: I will study Japanese this year. Here it means “this year”.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 年 from memory and read 今年 and 来年 aloud. Then check the readings against the examples.