元 年(がんねん)

がんねん

noun

first year of an era

1. first year of an era

The first year of a Japanese era (年号(ねんごう)). Each time a new emperor ascends the throne, a new era begins and that year is called 元年(がんねん).

The first year of the Reiwa era is 2019.

I was born in the first year of the Heisei era.

The first year of Meiji is the year Japan's modernization began.

2. inaugural year, dawn of a new era

Used figuratively to mark the year when something new begins or a major shift occurs, such as a technological breakthrough or cultural movement.

AI元年(がんねん)と呼(よ)ばれた。

It was called the dawn of the AI era.

It's said to be the inaugural year of electric vehicles.

2020 will be remembered as the year remote work began in earnest.

The Japanese era system (元号(げんごう)) assigns a name to each emperor's reign. 元年(がんねん) refers to the first year of any such era. Recent eras include 令和(れいわ) (2019–), 平成(へいせい) (1989–2019), and 昭和(しょうわ) (1926–1989).

Note: 元年(がんねん) is used instead of 一年(いちねん) for the first year. You say 令和(れいわ)元年(がんねん), not 令和(れいわ)一年(いちねん).

Sense 2 is widely used in media headlines: 〜元年(がんねん) marks the year something new made a major impact.

Related Words

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Added 2026.2.18 3:42 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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