Meaning

Primary

Child

Alternatives

Kid, Children, Kids

Word Type

noun

Explanation

A child servant is a child. Children are basically like little servants anyways, what else are they good for?

Reading

こども
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The readings for this one are the kun'yomi readings of each kanji. is , like the individual vocab word. is ども, however. Remember this by thinking how much children love domo-kun (ども).

Also, 子ども is kind of more "politically correct" with the kana hanging off there. 子供 is still used in a lot of situations, usually stiff ones. The second kanji means servant, and some people don't like that. The second version pops up a decent amount, so it's good to be familiar with that as well.

Context

Context Sentences

この映画は子供向けではなく、大人向けだと思うよ。

I think this movie is not intended for kids, but for grownups.

子供が生まれると、思った以上に生活が大きく変わった。

When my child was born, life changed more dramatically than I had expected.

お前の子供、イケメンすぎて、お前の子供だとは思えねーよ。

Your child is way too good looking, I can hardly believe he’s your kid.

子供達が寝静まった後に夫婦の時間を楽しみたいのは山々だが、疲れすぎて子供達と一緒に寝落ちしてしまうことがほとんどだ。

After the kids have gone to bed, we really want to enjoy some couples time together, but we're usually too tired and end up falling asleep with the kids.

Kanji Composition