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幼童 (yòu tóng) — young child, toddler

Definition

幼童 (yòu tóng) is a written/formal term for a 'young child,' typically ages roughly 3–6. More literary than the everyday 孩子; similar to 小孩 but used in formal writing or reports rather than daily speech.

noun
young childtoddler
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 幼童，。
    Zhè ge yòu tóng cái sān suì, yǐ jīng huì bèi táng shī le.
    This young child is only three years old and can already recite Tang poems.
  • 幼童。
    Gōng yuán lǐ yǒu yí gè zhuān mén de qū yù ràng yòu tóng wán shuǎ.
    There is a special area in the park for young children to play.
  • 幼童。
    Zhào gù yòu tóng xū yào jí dà de nài xīn hé xì xīn.
    Caring for young children requires great patience and attentiveness.

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
童tóngchild

幼 means young and 童 means child, together referring to a young child.

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 →

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

  • 䇂䇂䇂chisel
  • 見見jiànkneeling person with a huge eye

The form 童 comes from a pairing of 䇂 (a chisel) with 見 (a kneeling person with a huge eye), depicting a person having an eye gouged out.

Open 童 →
Appears in
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