年级
nián jí · HSK 2
grade
🎓 年 = year + 级 = level/rank → year-level = grade in school
年 means year and 级 means level, rank, or step (same 级 as in 高级 advanced or 班级 class). Together they literally mean year-level, which is exactly what a school grade is.
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.
级 — silk radical 纟 + 及 jí (phonetic)
级 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 纟 originally referred to threads or the steps/ranks of silk cords used to mark official grades. The right side 及 (jí) supplies the sound. Over time the meaning shifted from 'cord-marked rank' to general 'level, grade, class.'