Where does “三年” come from?

三年 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 年, from Middle Chinese 年, from Middle Chinese 代.

三年 (Japanese): three years; the third year

Definitions

  1. three years; the third year

Ancestry of “三年”, step by step

三年 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 年

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese年a year; a grade, a school year; grain,...
2Middle Chinese年—
3Middle Chinese代—

via Japanese 三

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese三three, 3; third; three
2Middle Chineseさん—
Every word from Middle Chinese 代 →Every word from Middle Chinese 年 →Every word from Japanese 年 →