Explore 幼 in words about young children and early life. Learn each reading with the complete word.

The idea

幼 has five strokes. Its kun reading appears in 幼い（おさない）; the on reading ヨウ appears in 幼児（ようじ）, 幼少期（ようしょうき） and 幼稚園（ようちえん）. Follow the linked stroke diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
幼いおさないMy younger sister is still young.
幼児ようじThe young child is playing in the park.
幼少期ようしょうきI spent my early childhood in Kyoto.
幼稚園ようちえんMy son goes to kindergarten.

Examples

  • 妹いもうとはまだ幼おさないです。My younger sister is still young.
  • 彼かれは年齢ねんれいより幼おさなく見みえます。He looks young for his age.
  • 幼児ようじが公園こうえんで遊あそんでいます。The young child is playing in the park.
  • 私わたしは幼少期ようしょうきを京都きょうとで過すごしました。I spent my early childhood in Kyoto.
  • 息子むすこは幼稚園ようちえんに通かよっています。My son goes to kindergarten.
  • 彼女かのじょの考かんがえ方かたはまだ幼おさないです。Her way of thinking is still immature.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

幼い describes someone young or behaviour that seems immature; context matters. 幼稚園 is kindergarten, while 幼児 means a young child, not the school.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 幼い in hiragana.

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    おさない

    幼い is おさない, including the okurigana い. It describes being young.

  2. Write the reading of 幼児 in hiragana.

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    ようじ

    幼児 is ようじ: 幼 is read よう in this compound, which means a young child.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿稚園（ようちえん）［幼／近］.

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    幼

    幼 completes 幼稚園（ようちえん）, a kindergarten; the other character does not make this word.

Use it today

Write 幼 using the stroke diagram, cover the table, and read 幼い and 幼児 aloud. Then make a sentence about childhood.