Japanese symbol for “infancy”
幼少
ようしょう
Romaji: youshou
infancy; childhood; tender age
In Japanese, infancy is 幼少, read ようしょう (youshou).
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
- adj-na, adj-no, n infancy; childhood; tender age
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “infancy”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 幼稚 | ようち youchi | infancy |
| 卵 | たまご tamago | beginning; origin; infancy |
| 幼 | よう you | infancy; childhood; infant |
| 幼年 | ようねん younen | childhood; infancy |
| 幼時 | ようじ youji | childhood; infancy |
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 |
| 幼稚 | ようち youchi | infancy |
| 少し | すこし sukoshi | a little; a bit; a small amount |
| 少年 | しょうねん shounen | boy |
| 少女 | しょうじょ shoujo | girl (usu. between 7 and 17); young lady |
See also: Chinese symbol for “infancy”.
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.