HSK 1
年
nián
year
Structure
Digit + Digit + Digit + Digit + 年
How it works
To express a year in Chinese, you read each numerical digit individually followed by the word '年' (nián). Unlike English, you do not say 'two thousand' or 'twenty-something'; you simply list the numbers one by one.
Examples
二零二四年。
Èr líng èr sì nián.
Year 2024.
二零一九年我在中国。
Èr líng yī jiǔ nián wǒ zài Zhōngguó.
In 2019, I was in China.
今年是二零二五年。
Jīnnián shì èr líng èr wǔ nián.
This year is 2025.
Common mistakes
Trying to read the year as a full number (e.g., saying 'two thousand' instead of 'two zero').
Tip
Always remember that the digit '0' is written as '零' (líng) or sometimes a simple circle '○' in dates.
More HSK 1 grammar
See 年 in real Chinese
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