幼时 (yòu shí) — childhood, infancy (early years of life)

Definition

Literary or written-style word for 'childhood' — most often seen in writing or biography, not everyday speech. Closer in tone to 童年 than to the casual 小时候.

noun
childhoodinfancy (early years of life)

Examples

  • 幼时。
    yòu shí De jì yì yǐ jīng mó hu le.
    The memories of childhood have already become blurry.
  • 幼时，。
    Tā yòu shí jiā jìng pín hán, dàn hěn nǔ lì.
    His family was poor in childhood, but he worked very hard.
  • 幼时。
    Zhè běn shū miáo xiě le zuò zhě de yòu shí shēng huó.
    This book describes the author's childhood life.

Origin

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.

幼yòuyoung
时shítime

幼 means young and 时 means time, together referring to early years.

Characters in this word

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

幼 is built from 幺, shown as tiny, and 力, shown as strength. 幺 may also contribute the sound.

Open 幼 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.