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How to say 'Young' in Japanese | 幼い

Wondering how to say 'Young' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Young is 'Osanai', written as 幼い in Japanese.'Young' in hiragana is おさない.

    word

    幼い

    Meaning

    Young

    Reading

    おさない

    osanai

    Kanji

    Childhood, Infancy

    Explanation

    The Japanese adjective '幼い (おさない)' means 'young'. It is used to describe someone or something that is in an early stage of life or development. This word often carries a nuance of immaturity or inexperience, and it can be used for both people and animals. For example: The child is still young「その子はまだ幼い」(そのこはまだおさない). Her dreams are still young and naive「彼女の夢はまだ幼い」(かのじょのゆめはまだおさない). Note that '幼い' can also imply a sense of innocence or lack of sophistication, depending on the context.

    Part Of Speech

    adjective

    Kanji JLPT

    N2

    Kanji Grade

    6

    Frequency

    3010

    Composition

    kanji-hiragana

    Handwriting

This word is an i-adjective. To learn how it transforms in different tenses and forms, explore all its conjugations.

Kanji in the Word 幼い

This word contains 1 kanji character:

  • kanji

    Meaning

    Childhood, Infancy

Hiragana in the Word 幼い

This word contains 1 Hiragana character :

  • hiragana

    Reading

    I

Words Related to 幼い Through the Kanji

These 3 Words contain the Kanji 幼 as well.

  • word

    幼稚園

    Meaning

    Kindergarten

  • word

    幼稚

    Meaning

    Immature

  • word

    幼児

    Meaning

    Toddler

Learn the Word 幼い

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What does 'Osanai' (幼い) mean?

'Osanai' means 'Young' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.