幼

See also: 㓜, 幻, 糼, 糿, and 紉

Translingual

Han character

幼 (Kangxi radical 52, 幺+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 女戈大尸 (VIKS), four-corner 2472₇, composition ⿰幺力)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 342, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9193
• Dae Jaweon: page 650, character 9
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1093, character 7
• Unihan data for U+5E7C

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		幼
alternative forms		㓜

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 幼
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (幼) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
黝	*qliw, *qrɯwʔ
坳	*qrɯːw, *qrɯːws
軪	*qrɯːw, *qrɯːws
眑	*qrɯːw, *qrɯwʔ
拗	*qrɯːwʔ, *qrɯːws
鴢	*qrɯːwʔ, *qɯːwʔ
靿	*qrɯːwʔ, *qrɯːws
狕	*qrɯːwʔ
袎	*qrɯːws
怮	*qɯːw, *qrɯw, *qrɯw, *qrɯwʔ
窈	*qiːwʔ
苭	*qɯːwʔ
泑	*qrɯw, *qrɯwʔ
呦	*qrɯw
蚴	*qrɯwʔ
幼	*qrɯws

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 幺 (“tiny”) + 力 (“strength”). 幺 (OC *qiːw) may also act as a phonetic component.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yòu (you⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄡˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jau³
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yu
• Eastern Min (BUC): iú
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): iù

  (Teochew, Peng'im): iun³

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁵ieu

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yòu
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄡˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yòu
    • Wade–Giles: yu⁴
    • Yale: yòu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yow
    • Palladius: ю (ju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /joʊ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: jau³
    • Yale: yau
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jau³
    • Guangdong Romanization: yeo³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐu̯³³/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yu
    • Hakka Romanization System: iu
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yiu⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /i̯u⁵⁵/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yu
    • Hakka Romanization System: (r)iu
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yiu⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /(j)i̯u⁵⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: iú
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /iɛu²¹³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iù
    • Tâi-lô: iù
    • Phofsit Daibuun: iux
    • IPA (Xiamen): /iu²¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /iu⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /iu²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /iu¹¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /iu²¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: iun³
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: iùⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ĩũ²¹³/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁵ieu
    • MiniDict: ieu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²ieu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /iɤ³⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: 'jiwH

Rime
Character	幼
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	幽 (138)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	伊謬切
Baxter	'jiwH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʔiɪuH/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔɨuH/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔieuH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔjiwH/
Li Rong	/ʔiĕuH/
Wang Li	/iəuH/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʔieuH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yòu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jau3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ʔ](r)iw-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*qrɯws/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	幼
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yòu
Middle Chinese	‹ ʔjiwH ›
Old Chinese	/*[ʔ](r)iw-s/
English	young
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	幼
Reading #	1/1
No.	15646
Phonetic component	幼
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	幼
Old Chinese	/*qrɯws/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 幼

1. infant; young child
2. young
3. immature
4. ^† to love; to take care of (the young)

   • 幼吾幼，以及人之幼。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Yòu wú yòu, yǐjí rén zhī yòu. [Pinyin]

     Treat with the kindness due to youth the young in your own family, so that the young in the families of others shall be similarly treated.

5. (Cantonese) fine (not coarse)
6. a surname

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Japanese

Kanji

幼

(grade 6 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. childish, immature, young
2. infant, young child

Readings

• Go-on: ゆう (yū)^{←いう (iu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ゆう (yū)^{←いう (iu, historical)}
• Kan’yō-on: よう (yō, Jōyō)^{←えう (eu, historical)}
• Kun: おさない (osanai, 幼い, Jōyō)^{←をさない (wosanai, 幼い, historical)}; いとけない (itokenai, 幼けない); おさなびる (osanabiru, 幼びる)
• Nanori: わか (waka)

Compounds

Compounds

• 幼(よう)芽(が) (yōga, “plumule”)
• 幼(よう)孩(がい) (yōgai)
• 幼(よう)学(がく) (yōgaku)
• 幼(よう)魚(ぎょ) (yōgyo, “young fish”)
• 幼(よう)君(くん) (yōkun, “young master”)
• 幼(よう)形(けい) (yōkei, “neoteny”)
• 幼(よう)孤(こ) (yōko, “young orphan”)
• 幼(よう)根(こん) (yōkon, “(botany) radicle”)
• 幼(よう)児(じ) (yōji, “infant, toddler”)
• 幼(よう)時(じ) (yōji, “childhood, infancy”)
• 幼(よう)歯(し) (yōshi, “baby tooth”)
• 幼(よう)者(しゃ) (yōsha, “young child, infant”)
• 幼(よう)弱(じゃく) (yōjaku, “young and weak”)
• 幼(よう)若(じゃく) (yōjaku, “juvenile”)
• 幼(よう)主(しゅ) (yōshu, “young monarch”)
• 幼(よう)獣(じゅう) (yōjū, “young animal”)
• 幼(よう)女(じょ) (yōjo, “young girl”)
• 幼(よう)少(しょう) (yōshō, “very young, infancy”)
• 幼(よう)生(せい) (yōsei, “larva”)
• 幼(よう)稚(ち) (yōchi, “childish; infantile”)
• 幼(よう)冲(ちゅう) (yōchū), 幼(よう)沖(ちゅう) (yōchū)
• 幼(よう)虫(ちゅう) (yōchū, “larva”)
• 幼(よう)鳥(ちょう) (yōchō, “chick”)
• 幼(よう)帝(てい) (yōtei, “young emperor”)
• 幼(よう)童(どう) (yōdō, “young child”)
• 幼(よう)年(ねん) (yōnen, “childhood”)
• 幼(よう)保(ほ) (yōho)
• 幼(よう)木(ぼく) (yōboku)
• 幼(よう)齢(れい)林(りん) (yōreirin)
• 幼(よう)名(みょう) (yōmyō, “childhood name”), 幼(よう)名(めい) (yōmei)
• 長(ちょう)幼(よう) (chōyō, “the young and the old”)
• 童(どう)幼(よう) (dōyō)
• 老(ろう)幼(よう) (rōyō, “the young and the old”)
• 幼(いた)気(いけ) (itaike, “young and sweet”)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
幼
よう Grade: 6
on’yomi

*/jiɪu/ → /jieu/ → /jeu/ → /joː/

From Middle Chinese 幼 (MC 'jiwH).

Noun

幼(よう) • (yō) ^{←えう (eu)?}

1. childhood, infancy
2. a young child

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
幼
おさな Grade: 6
kun’yomi

/wosana/ → /osana/

Stem of classical verb 幼し (osanashi), modern 幼い (osanai, “childish, infantile”).

Noun

幼(おさな) • (osana) ^{←をさな (wosana)?}

1. Synonym of 幼子 (osanago): an infant, young child

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 幼(おさな)びる (osanabiru)
• 幼(おさな)らしい (osanarashii)
• 幼(おさな)生(お)い (osana oi)
• 幼(おさな)顔(がお) (osanagao)
• 幼(おさな)子(ご), 幼(おさな)児(ご) (osanago)
• 幼(おさな)心(ごこ)地(ち) (osana-gokochi)
• 幼(おさな)心(ごころ) (osana-gokoro)
• 幼(おさな)立(だ)ち (osanadachi)
• 幼(おさな)妻(づま) (osanazuma)
• 幼(おさな)友(とも)達(だち) (osana tomodachi)
• 幼(おさな)名(な) (osanana)
• 幼(おさな)物(もの)語(がたり) (osana monogatari)
• 幼(おさな)等(ら) (osanara)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
幼
いと Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Noun

幼(いと) • (ito) 

1. (archaic) a young child, infant, toddler

   Synonym: 幼児 (yōji)

Derived terms

• 幼(いと)様(さま) (itosama), 幼(いと)様(さん) (itosan)

Prefix

幼(いと) • (ito) 

1. prefixed to a noun: childish, immature, infantile

Derived terms

• 幼(いと)宮(みや) (itomiya)

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Korean

Hanja

幼 • (yu) (hangeul 유, revised yu, McCune–Reischauer yu)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 幼 (ấu, âu)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.