当年
dāng nián , dàng nián · HSK 5
day
📅 当 = at/during + 年 = year → at that year, back then
当 means at/during a time, and 年 means year, so 当年 literally points to the year in question — back then, in those days. The two readings differ slightly: dāng nián = that same year; dàng nián = back in those days.
当 — small ⺌ + crown 冖 + hand 彐 (simplified from 當: 尚 + 田)
Originally written 當, combining 田 'field' with 尚 as a phonetic. The early sense was 'to match' or 'face' a field of equal value, extended to 'correspond to', 'ought to', and 'serve as'. The simplified form 当 streamlines the upper 尚 component.
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.