幼い
Meaning in Englishvery young, childish, immature
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
幼い means young in age, typically describing a child who has not yet reached maturity; it also conveys innocence or naivety in a gentle, sometimes evaluative sense, depending on context.
Main meanings
- Primary sense: the state of being in the early developmental stage, typically referring to children.
- Nuance: implies innocence or naivety; tone may be affectionate or slightly condescending depending on context.
- Usage extension: can describe behaviors or appearances that resemble youth or lack of experience.
How to use it
Used in neutral or descriptive narration, academic and literary prose, and everyday speech; appropriate when referring to a child or childlike behavior. In formal writing, it is common to pair with 子 or 児 to emphasize age, while in casual speech it can carry warmth or critique depending on tone; typical phrases include 幼い頃 and 幼い性格.
Variants and close terms
- 若い (wakai) — young
- 子供っぽい (kodomoppoi) — childish
- 未熟 (mijuku) — immature
Composition
- 幼: young, infant; the core meaning related to early life
- い: adjective suffix that turns the concept into an i-adjective describing a state or quality
Etymology
Phonetic evolution: the term combines the kanji 幼 with the adjective suffix い; over historical usage the reading and meaning settled into the modern sense of youth and childishness.
Word class
adjective (i-adjective)