Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced nian
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced nian, including 年 nián, 念 niàn, 粘 zhān / nián. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
Build nian by sliding from n straight into ian; the tone rides over the joined sound, so treat it as one unit.
Initial n
Start the syllable on the initial n, then run straight into the final ian — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final ian
Settle the final ian into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (年 nián, 念 niàn, 粘 zhān / nián) and lock in their tones. 3 common characters share the sound nian, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
nian turns up here with 3 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 粘 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 年 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 念 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing nian inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
3 common characters in this group.