拜年
bài nián · HSK 7
to pay a New Year call
🧧🎆 bài nián = bow/pay respects + year — you bow to elders at New Year
拜 means to bow or pay respects (think of clasped hands bowing). 年 means year. Together: the act of visiting family and friends to bow and exchange New Year greetings.
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.