年画 niánhuà New Year (Spring Festival) picture
How to remember 年画: 年 year + 画 drawing = New Year (Spring Festival) picture.
Characters
How it is used
- A traditional New Year picture, pasted up at Spring Festival for luck - 贴年画 (tiē niánhuà) to put up New Year prints.
- A specific folk-art genre (bright colors, chubby babies, door gods), not just 'a picture of the new year'.
- Cultural term; often mentioned alongside 春联 (chūnlián, Spring Festival couplets) and 窗花 (chuānghuā, paper-cuts).