年
nyeon
One crop ripens and a year has passed
The picture A sprout growing, ripening, being cut, and a new sprout coming up in the same spot: one big turn. 年 is one big turn back to the same place; 月 is the moon filling and emptying twelve times inside it.
Where the picture shows up in 年
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the turn already past
작년에 한국에 왔어요.
jang-nyeo-ne han-gu-ge wa-sseo-yo
I came to Korea a year ago.
A field already cut and cleared, receding behind you
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the turn not yet here
내년에 결혼해요.
nae-nyeo-ne gyeo-ro-nae-yo
We're getting married next year.
Several calendar pages flipped at once and a circle drawn on a still-empty sheet
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learning bundled into one turn
아들이 삼 학년이에요.
a-deu-ri sam hang-nyeo-ni-e-yo
My son is in third grade.
The number on a classroom door going up by one each time a year passes
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repeating every turn
매년 건강검진을 받아요.
mae-nyeon geon-gang-geom-ji-neul ba-da-yo
I get a checkup once a year.
Sitting down in the same clinic chair again whenever the same season comes round
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the unit counting turns
여기서 몇 년 일하셨어요?
yeo-gi-seo myeon nyeon il-ha-syeo-sseo-yo
How many years have you worked here?
Fingers unfolding one at a time to count the turns that have gone by
All of it in one picture
年 is one big turn of the year. The turn already finished is last year; the turn not yet here is next year. Learning bundled one turn at a time is a school year, and what repeats identically every turn is "yearly." Count how many turns have gone by and you get so many years.