Japanese symbol for “childhood”
幼年
ようねん
Romaji: younen
childhood; infancy
In Japanese, childhood is 幼年, read ようねん (younen).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n childhood; infancy
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “childhood”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 幼少 | ようしょう youshou | infancy; childhood; tender age |
| 幼時 | ようじ youji | childhood; infancy |
| 幼 | よう you | infancy; childhood; infant |
| 幼年時代 | ようねんじだい younenjidai | childhood |
| 幼少期 | ようしょうき youshouki | (early) childhood |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 幼稚園 | ようちえん youchien | kindergarten (in Japan, non-compulsory education from age 3 until primary school); preschool |
| 幼児 | ようじ youji | young child; toddler |
| 幼なじみ | おさななじみ osananajimi | childhood friend; friend from infancy; old playmate |
| 幼い | おさない osanai | very young; little |
| 幼少 | ようしょう youshou | infancy; childhood; tender age |
| 幼稚 | ようち youchi | infancy |
| 今年 | ことし kotoshi | this year |
| 年間 | ねんかん nenkan | (period of) a year |
See also: Chinese symbol for “childhood”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.