今年
jīn nián · HSK 1
this year
📅 今 (now) + 年 (year) = this year
今 means now/present and 年 means year, so 今年 literally reads as the present year. The same 今 appears in 今天 (today) and 今晚 (tonight).
年 — grain 禾 over person 人 (oracle bone)
Originally a pictograph of a person carrying a bundle of harvested grain on their back, representing the yearly grain harvest. Because harvests came once a year, the character shifted from meaning 'harvest' to meaning 'year.' The modern form 年 obscures the original 禾 (grain) + 人 (person) structure.