大人
Meaning in Englishadult
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 大人 mean? It denotes a person who is legally and socially recognized as an adult in Japan, signifying maturity and the capacity to assume adult responsibilities, typically contrasted with children or youths.
Main meanings
- adult person, someone who has reached maturity or the age of majority
- maturity or seriousness in behavior, often implying responsible conduct
- as a modifier 大人向け for products or media intended for adults
How to use it
Used as a noun in formal and casual contexts to denote a grown person; common in education, media, law, and everyday conversation; frequently appears in phrases such as 大人になる and 大人向け to indicate growth or adult-oriented content.
Variants and close terms
- 成人 (seijin) — adult, legal age
- 子供 (kodomo) — child; opposite
- 大人向け (otona-muke) — for adults
Composition
- 大: large, great
- 人: person
- Together they denote a person who has grown in size or maturity
Etymology
Phonetic evolution: a native kun'yomi compound formed from 大 (large, great) and 人 (person); the pronunciation otona reflects traditional reading rather than a Sino-Japanese on’yomi, and the form has remained stable across dialects.
Origin
The concept appears in classical Japanese literature and everyday discourse, with adulthood as a social and legal category widely discussed by the Edo period; the term has long been used to distinguish mature individuals from youth in education, law, and family life.
Word class
noun (名詞)