少年
しょうねん · shounen · JLPT N3 · noun
male child
👦 少年 = few + years: someone with few years is a boy
少 (shou) means few and 年 (nen) means year, so a 少年 is a person of few years. You already know the sound from Shonen Jump, the manga magazine aimed at boys.
少 — 小 (small) + 丿 (slash stroke)
Originally a pictograph showing four small dots or grains, suggesting 'few' or 'small in quantity'. Over time it became distinguished from 小 (small) by adding a downward stroke. The core meaning shifted toward 'few' or 'little in number', while 小 kept the sense of physical smallness.
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.