毎年
まいねん; まいとし · mainen; maitoshi · JLPT N5 · adverb
yearly
📅 毎年 = every (毎) + year (年)
毎 means every, as in 毎日 (every day) and 毎週 (every week); 年 means year. Two readings: まいねん uses the Chinese-derived reading ねん, まいとし uses the native word とし. Same meaning either way.
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.