年纪
niánjì · HSK 3
age
📅 年 (year) + 纪 (record) = years recorded = a person's age
年 means year and 纪 means record or chronicle. Together they literally spell out a record of years lived, which is how Chinese expresses someone's age. Related to 纪录 (jìlù, record).
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.