年 and 人 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar
in older Chinese.
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 人 than it was in ancient scripts.
Character Evolution
Oracle Bone~1250-1000 BCOracle Bone~1250-1000 BCOracle Bone~1250-1000 BCBronzeEarly Western Zhou~1000 BCBronzeEarly Western Zhou~1000 BCBronzeEarly Spring and Autumn~700 BCBronzeEarly Spring and Autumn~700 BCBronzeLate Spring and Autumn~500 BCBronzeLate Spring and Autumn~500 BCBronzeLate Spring and Autumn~500 BCBronzeLate Warring States~250 BCBronzeLate Warring States~250 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealShuowen~100 ADClericalQin221-206 BCClericalWestern Han202 BC-9 ADClericalWestern Han202 BC-9 ADClericalEastern Han25-220 ADRegularModern
