What does 年 (～nen | ～ねん) mean in Japanese?

The Japanese word

長年の努力が烏有に帰した。
naganen no doryoku ga uyū ni kaeshi ta.
Years of effort came to nothing.

１０年は待つには長い時間だ。
ichi zero nen wa matsu ni wa nagai jikan da.
Ten years is a long time to wait.

３０年ぶりにクラス会があった。
san zero nen buri ni kurasu kai ga atta.
There was a class reunion after 30 years.

彼は７年間、合気道をやっていた。
kare wa nana nenkan, aikidō o yatte i ta.
He had been a practitioner of Aikido for seven years.

３年前に東京へ来て以来ここに住んでいる。
san nen mae ni tōkyō e ki te irai koko ni sun de iru.
I came to Tokyo three years ago and have been living here ever since.

それが高1の時だから17年が経ちました。
sore ga kō 1 no toki da kara 17 nen ga tachi mashi ta.
That was when I was in the first year at high school, so 17 years have passed since then.

優紀子は年端も行かない無邪気な少女です。
yukiko wa toshiha mo ika nai mujaki na shōjo desu.
Yukiko is an innocent girl of tender years.

約１年半で約２２億通の迷惑メールを送りました。
yaku ichi nen han de yaku ni ni oku tsū no meiwaku mēru o okuri mashi ta.
He sent about 2.2 billion spam emails over a period of around one and a half years. | I sent about 2.2 billion spam emails over a period of around one and a half years.

16年間、ここに住んでいる高木さんも驚きました。
16 nenkan, koko ni sun de iru takagi san mo odoroki mashi ta.
Mr Takagi, who's lived here 16 years, was also surprised.

２、３年でフランス語に熟達するのはきわめて難しい。
ni, san nen de furansugo ni jukutatsu suru no wa kiwamete muzukashī.
It's quite difficult to master French in 2 or 3 years.

いい監督を探すのに3年費やしたが、見つからなかった。
ī kantoku o sagasu no ni 3 nen tsuiyashi ta ga, mitsukara nakatta.
I spent three years looking for a good director, but couldn't find one.

年月を経て物事がどう変わっていくか見るのは面白そうだ。
toshitsuki o he te monogoto ga dō kawatte iku ka miru no wa omoshiro sō da.
It would be fun to see how things change over the years.

数年前の母の日に、義母にロケットをプレゼントしました。
sū nen mae no haha no hi ni, gibo ni roketto o purezento shi mashi ta.
A few years ago, on Mother's Day, I gave my stepmother a locket as a present.

４年ほど前にアキレス腱が痛くなりアキレス腱炎といわれました。
yon nen hodo mae ni akiresuken ga itaku nari akiresuken en to iwa re mashi ta.
About four years ago my Achilles tendon started to hurt and I was told it was Achilles tendonitis.

ＯＬになってもう３年。今の生活に不満がある訳じゃないけど・・・。
ōeru ni natte mō san nen. ima no seikatsu ni fuman ga aru wake ja nai kedo . . ..
Already three years since I became an office lady. It's not as if I'm dissatisfied with my present lifestyle but, well ...

兄が急逝したのは２年前、義姉は一人兄の遺した小さな宝飾店を健気に守ってきた。
ani ga kyūsei shi ta no wa ni nen mae, gishi wa ichi nin kei no nokoshi ta chīsana hōshoku ten o kenage ni mamotte ki ta.
Since my brother died suddenly two years ago, my sister-in-law has valiantly kept going the small jewellery store he left her. | My brother died suddenly two years ago. Since then, my sister-in-law has valiantly kept the small jewelery store he left her going.

一郎はどことなく傷ついたように言ったが、それが嘘っぱちであることはこいつとの長年の付き合いが教えてくれた。
ichirō wa dokotonaku kizutsui ta yō ni itta ga, sore ga usoppachi de aru koto wa koitsu to no naganen no tsukiai ga oshie te kure ta.
Ichiro sounded somehow upset but my long years of hanging out with him told me that it was out and out fake.

何十年も鍛え続けた強者が、ほんの一瞬の油断で弱者に倒されることがあるんですの。それが武術の世界というものですわ。
nan jū nen mo kitae tsuzuke ta tsuwamono ga, honno ijjun no yudan de jakusha ni taosa reru koto ga arun desu no. sore ga bujutsu no sekai toyū mono desu wa.
A strong veteran, having trained for tens of years, can fall to a weakling in a moment of laxness. That's what the martial arts world is.

近年では、クエーサーの観測を応用したVLBIと呼ばれる方法やGPSによって、プレートの絶対運動も理解され始めている。
kinnen de wa, kuēsā no kansoku o ōyō shi ta VLBI to yoba reru hōhō ya GPS niyotte, purēto no zettai undō mo rikai sa re hajime te iru.
In recent years, with a method called VLBI that uses quasar observations, and by GPS we have begun to understand the absolute movement of tectonic plates.

	The Japanese word
	年
	is pronounced
	～nen \| ～ねん
	means
	~ years

	Examples:
	長年の努力が烏有に帰した。 naganen no doryoku ga uyū ni kaeshi ta. Years of effort came to nothing.
	１０年は待つには長い時間だ。 ichi zero nen wa matsu ni wa nagai jikan da. Ten years is a long time to wait.
	３０年ぶりにクラス会があった。 san zero nen buri ni kurasu kai ga atta. There was a class reunion after 30 years.
	彼は７年間、合気道をやっていた。 kare wa nana nenkan, aikidō o yatte i ta. He had been a practitioner of Aikido for seven years.
	３年前に東京へ来て以来ここに住んでいる。 san nen mae ni tōkyō e ki te irai koko ni sun de iru. I came to Tokyo three years ago and have been living here ever since.
	それが高1の時だから17年が経ちました。 sore ga kō 1 no toki da kara 17 nen ga tachi mashi ta. That was when I was in the first year at high school, so 17 years have passed since then.
	優紀子は年端も行かない無邪気な少女です。 yukiko wa toshiha mo ika nai mujaki na shōjo desu. Yukiko is an innocent girl of tender years.
	約１年半で約２２億通の迷惑メールを送りました。 yaku ichi nen han de yaku ni ni oku tsū no meiwaku mēru o okuri mashi ta. He sent about 2.2 billion spam emails over a period of around one and a half years. \| I sent about 2.2 billion spam emails over a period of around one and a half years.
	16年間、ここに住んでいる高木さんも驚きました。 16 nenkan, koko ni sun de iru takagi san mo odoroki mashi ta. Mr Takagi, who's lived here 16 years, was also surprised.
	２、３年でフランス語に熟達するのはきわめて難しい。 ni, san nen de furansugo ni jukutatsu suru no wa kiwamete muzukashī. It's quite difficult to master French in 2 or 3 years.
	いい監督を探すのに3年費やしたが、見つからなかった。 ī kantoku o sagasu no ni 3 nen tsuiyashi ta ga, mitsukara nakatta. I spent three years looking for a good director, but couldn't find one.
	年月を経て物事がどう変わっていくか見るのは面白そうだ。 toshitsuki o he te monogoto ga dō kawatte iku ka miru no wa omoshiro sō da. It would be fun to see how things change over the years.
	数年前の母の日に、義母にロケットをプレゼントしました。 sū nen mae no haha no hi ni, gibo ni roketto o purezento shi mashi ta. A few years ago, on Mother's Day, I gave my stepmother a locket as a present.
	４年ほど前にアキレス腱が痛くなりアキレス腱炎といわれました。 yon nen hodo mae ni akiresuken ga itaku nari akiresuken en to iwa re mashi ta. About four years ago my Achilles tendon started to hurt and I was told it was Achilles tendonitis.
	ＯＬになってもう３年。今の生活に不満がある訳じゃないけど・・・。 ōeru ni natte mō san nen. ima no seikatsu ni fuman ga aru wake ja nai kedo . . .. Already three years since I became an office lady. It's not as if I'm dissatisfied with my present lifestyle but, well ...
	兄が急逝したのは２年前、義姉は一人兄の遺した小さな宝飾店を健気に守ってきた。 ani ga kyūsei shi ta no wa ni nen mae, gishi wa ichi nin kei no nokoshi ta chīsana hōshoku ten o kenage ni mamotte ki ta. Since my brother died suddenly two years ago, my sister-in-law has valiantly kept going the small jewellery store he left her. \| My brother died suddenly two years ago. Since then, my sister-in-law has valiantly kept the small jewelery store he left her going.
	一郎はどことなく傷ついたように言ったが、それが嘘っぱちであることはこいつとの長年の付き合いが教えてくれた。 ichirō wa dokotonaku kizutsui ta yō ni itta ga, sore ga usoppachi de aru koto wa koitsu to no naganen no tsukiai ga oshie te kure ta. Ichiro sounded somehow upset but my long years of hanging out with him told me that it was out and out fake.
	何十年も鍛え続けた強者が、ほんの一瞬の油断で弱者に倒されることがあるんですの。それが武術の世界というものですわ。 nan jū nen mo kitae tsuzuke ta tsuwamono ga, honno ijjun no yudan de jakusha ni taosa reru koto ga arun desu no. sore ga bujutsu no sekai toyū mono desu wa. A strong veteran, having trained for tens of years, can fall to a weakling in a moment of laxness. That's what the martial arts world is.
	近年では、クエーサーの観測を応用したVLBIと呼ばれる方法やGPSによって、プレートの絶対運動も理解され始めている。 kinnen de wa, kuēsā no kansoku o ōyō shi ta VLBI to yoba reru hōhō ya GPS niyotte, purēto no zettai undō mo rikai sa re hajime te iru. In recent years, with a method called VLBI that uses quasar observations, and by GPS we have begun to understand the absolute movement of tectonic plates.

	Examples sourced from tatoeba.org