年鑑
ねんかん · nenkan · JLPT N3 · noun
yearbook
📖📅 年鑑 = year + mirror: a book that reflects back the year
年 (nen) means year. 鑑 (kan) once meant a bronze mirror, and later a model or reference work, the same kan as in 図鑑 zukan, an illustrated guide. A 年鑑 is the year's reference book.
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.