What is the Kanji for "Childhood" and "Infancy"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Childhood" and "Infancy" is "幼".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Osana".

Its onyomi reading is "You".

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 "幺" means "Slight" . And The kanji "力" means "Power" and can be read as "Riki", "Ryoku", and "Chikara".

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

What does the kanji "幼" mean in japanese?

"幼" means "Childhood" and "Infancy".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

幼稚園: "Kindergarten". The Japanese noun '幼稚園 (ようちえん)' refers to a preschool or kindergarten, which is an early childhood education and care institution for young children before they begin elementary school. It is a place where children receive care, play, and begin their formal education. For example: My child goes to kindergarten - (私の子供は幼稚園に通っています). The kindergarten is located near the park - (幼稚園は公園の近くにあります).

幼い: "Young". The adjective '幼い (おさない)' means 'young'. It is used to describe someone or something that is still in an early stage of life or development. It can refer to a child, an immature person, or a very young animal. For example: She has a young face - (彼女は幼い顔をしている). The puppy is still very young - (この子犬はまだ非常に幼いです).

幼稚: "Childish". The Japanese adjectival noun '幼稚 (ようち)' means 'childish'. It is used to describe someone or something as immature, naive, or lacking in experience or judgment. It carries a negative connotation and implies a lack of maturity or sophistication. For example: His behavior was very childish - (彼の行動は非常に幼稚だった). She has a childish attitude about serious matters - (彼女は深刻な問題について幼稚な態度をとっている).

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).

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 "よ" is read as "yo". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "お" is read as "o". The hiragana "さ" is read as "sa". And The hiragana "な" is read as "na".

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.