幼児
Meaning in Englishinfant, baby, child
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
幼児 refers to a young child in the early years before starting elementary school, typically a preschooler. It denotes a child who is not yet of school age and is in a stage of rapid development and dependence on caregivers.
Main meanings
- Early childhood stage: a preschooler who is not yet in compulsory education.
- Formal and policy usage in education, healthcare, and childcare terminology.
- Appears in compounds such as 幼児教育 and 幼児期 to specify age and development context.
How to use it
Used in formal contexts such as medical guidance, school admissions planning, and childcare policies to denote a preschool-aged child. In everyday speech, people may refer to a child using other terms like 子ども or 小さい子, while 幼児 remains common in official documents and educational discourse, including terms like 幼児教育, 幼児期 and 幼児科.
Variants and close terms
- 幼児期 (yōjiki) — early childhood
- 幼少児 (yōshōji) — young child, less common
- 未就学児 (mishūgakji) — preschooler
- 乳児 (nyūji) — infant
Composition
- 幼 = young
- 児 = child
- Together they form a compound meaning a young child
Etymology
kanji 幼 means young and 児 means child; when combined they create a word that designates a very young child. The reading yōji comes from the on'yomi of both characters, used in compound formation.
Word class
noun (名詞)