What is the Kanji for "Child"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Child", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Child" is "児".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its onyomi readings are "Ni" and "Ji".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "儿" means "Legs" . And The kanji "旧" means "Old" and "Past" and can be read as "Kyuu".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "児" mean in japanese?

"児" means "Child".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fourth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N2 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

児童: "Child". The Japanese noun '児童 (じどう)' means 'child'. It is used to refer to young people, typically those of school age. This word is often used in formal or official contexts, such as when discussing education, childcare, or children's rights. For example: The school provides services for all the children - (その学校は全ての児童に対してサービスを提供しています). The children played happily in the park - (児童たちは公園で楽しく遊んでいました).

児: "Child". The Japanese suffix '児 (じ)' means 'child'. It is typically used to refer to a person's offspring or children. This suffix is often seen in words like '男児 (だんじ)' meaning 'boy' and '女児 (じょじ)' meaning 'girl'. It can also be used in names to indicate a person is a child, such as '健児 (けんじ)' meaning 'healthy child'. Examples: Our daughter - (わが子). The children played - (児童が遊んでいた).

育児: "Childcare". The Japanese noun '育児 (いくじ)' means 'childcare'. This term refers to the care and upbringing of children, including activities such as feeding, bathing, and nurturing a child's development. It is an important responsibility for parents and caregivers. Example sentences: Childcare is a challenging but rewarding task - (育児は大変だが喜びでもある). Taking care of a baby requires a lot of育児(いくじ) - (赤ちゃんの育児には大変な努力が必要だ).

幼児: "Child". The Japanese noun '幼児 (ようじ)' means 'child'. It specifically refers to a young child, usually between the ages of 2-6 years old. This term is often used in educational or childcare contexts. For example: The young children were playing in the park - (幼児たちが公園で遊んでいた). I take my young child to daycare - (私は幼児を保育園に連れて行きます).

小児科: "Pediatrics". The Japanese noun '小児科 (しょうにか)' refers to the branch of medicine that deals with the health and medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics covers a wide range of medical issues including growth and development, diseases, injuries, and behavioral/mental health. For example: The hospital has a well-equipped pediatric ward - (この病院には小児科の病棟があります).

小児: "Child". The noun '小児 (しょうに)' means 'child'. It is used to refer to a young human being, typically from birth to the onset of puberty. This word is often used in medical contexts when referring to pediatric care or children's health. For example: The hospital has a well-equipped children's ward - (その病院には小児病棟がよく整っている). The pediatrician examined the small child - (小児科医は小さな子供を診察した).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "に" is read as "ni". And The hiragana "じ" is read as "ji".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.