岁
suì · HSK 1
year of age
🎂 岁 = 山 (mountain) + 夕 (evening) — mountains pile up as evenings pass into years
岁 means a year, especially years of age. The top 山 (mountain) and bottom 夕 (evening) hint at stacking evenings into mountainous heaps — that stack is your age. Sounds like 'sway'.
岁 — mountain 山 on top + 夕 evening below
Originally written 歲, depicting the planet Jupiter (歲星) whose roughly 12-year orbit was used to mark years; the character combined 步 (step) with 戌. The simplified form 岁 replaces the complex body with 山 over 夕. Its core meaning is 'year' or 'years of age'.
suì · HSK 1
years old
🎂 sounds like 'sway' — birthday candles sway with each year of age
岁 (suì) counts years of age. The top 山 (mountain) sits over 夕 (evening/dusk), evoking accumulated dusks — a long span of time. Use it after a number: 三岁 = three years old.
岁 — mountain 山 on top + 夕 evening below
Originally written 歲, depicting the planet Jupiter (歲星) whose roughly 12-year orbit was used to mark years; the character combined 步 (step) with 戌. The simplified form 岁 replaces the complex body with 山 over 夕. Its core meaning is 'year' or 'years of age'.