Definition
幼稚 (yòu zhì) means 'childish, immature' and is almost always used negatively — it criticizes behavior or thinking as naive or puerile for someone's age. This contrasts with 天真 (tiān zhēn), which can be neutral or even positive ('innocent, pure'), and with 稚嫩 (zhì nèn), which focuses on physical youth or inexperience. 年轻 (nián qīng) and 小 (xiǎo) simply describe young age without the negative judgment.
adjective
childishimmature (in behavior or thinking)naivepuerile
Easily confused
- 优质yōu zhìsound-alikehigh-quality, excellent quality
Examples
- 幼稚，。Zhè zhǒng xiǎngfǎ tài yòu zhì le, gēnběn bù xiànshí.This kind of thinking is too childish — it's completely unrealistic.
- 幼稚，。Bié xiào wǒ yòu zhì, wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng bǎoliú yì diǎn tóngxīn.Don't laugh at me for being childish — I just want to keep a little childlike heart.
- ，幼稚。Tā sānshí suì le hái zuò zhè zhǒng shì, zhēnshi yòu zhì.He's thirty years old and still does things like this — truly childish.
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