小儿 (xiǎo ér) — early childhood; baby boy

Definition

Literary/medical term for 'young child' (often ages 1–3). 比孩子 more formal and written; can also specifically mean 'baby boy' in older usage.

noun

early childhoodbaby boy

Measure word · 个

小儿。
Tā xiǎo ér shí hou jiù xǐ huan yīn yuè.
He has liked music since early childhood.
小儿。
Tā qù nián shēng le yí gè xiǎo ér.
She gave birth to a baby boy last year.
小儿。
xiǎo ér Xū yào duō shuì jiào.
Young children need more sleep.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

小 means small and 儿 means child, so 小儿 is a small child.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Appears in