年 Year

Radical Combination

• 𠂉

  Gun
• 牛

  Cow

Meaning

Primary

Year

Mnemonic

You have a gun and a cow, which must mean it's that time of the year! Every year on New Year's Eve, you get asked to shoot a cow, as per tradition. You really don't want to though, so you deliberately miss every time.

Hints

Last year was a close call and you ended up shooting the cow's horn, which is why the cow radical looks a little strange here. Can you see how the cow radical fits underneath the gun?

Readings

On’yomi

ねん

Kun’yomi

とし

Nanori

None

Mnemonic

To avoid having to shoot a cow this year, you just get a cow nendoroid (ねん) — you know, one of those Japanese plastic figurines with the oversized heads. Hopefully no one will mind if you use a nendoroid rather than the real thing this year.

Hints

If you're not familiar with nendoroids, take a second to look them up. They'll be popping up in more ねん mnemonics in the future, so you'll want to get accustomed to them. Maybe even buy one and put it on your desk as an extra reminder.