年間
ねんかん · nenkan · JLPT N3 · noun
year
📅 年間 = year + span: the full stretch of a year, as in annual or yearly
年 (nen) means year and 間 (kan) means interval or span, as in 時間 jikan, a span of time. So 年間 is a year's span: 年間計画 is an annual plan, and 三年間 means for three years.
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.