Meaning of 儿童
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- child
How to use 儿童
儿童 is a more formal or general word than 孩子 (háizi). It often appears on signs, in news, and in set phrases like 儿童节 (Értóng Jié, Children's Day). Example: 这本书适合儿童阅读。(Zhè běn shū shìhé értóng yuèdú.) This book is suitable for children to read.
儿 (ér) is the child you already know from 儿子 (érzi) and 女儿 (nǚ'ér), and 童 (tóng) also means child. Two "child" characters stacked together make one formal word for children.
Common mistake: Learners often say 我的儿童 to mean "my child," but 儿童 refers to children as a group or category. For your own kid, use 我的孩子 (wǒ de háizi). Also, 童 is second tone (tóng), so do not confuse it with 同 (tóng) or 痛 (tòng).
儿童 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
儿 ér · son · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
童 tóng · child · 12 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
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- 9
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- 12
Related words
Words that share a character with 儿童.
| 这儿 | zhèr | here |
| 儿子 | érzi | son |
| 哪儿 | nǎr | where?; wherever; anywhere; somewhere |
| 女儿 | nǚ'ér | daughter |
| 那儿 | nàr | there |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 女孩儿 | nǚháir | erhua form of 女孩[nu : 3 hai2] |
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] |
| 玩儿 | wánr | to play; to have fun |
| 小孩儿 | xiǎoháir | erhua variant of 小孩[xiao3 hai2] |
Questions about 儿童
What does 儿童 mean?
儿童 (értóng) means "child" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 儿童?
儿童 is made of 2 characters: 儿 (2 strokes), 童 (12 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 儿童 an HSK word?
Yes. 儿童 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 儿童 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 儿童 is written 兒童.
What is the difference between 儿童 and 孩子?
孩子 (háizi) is everyday and can mean someone's own child at any age. 儿童 is formal and means young children as a group, often used in laws, products, and public settings.
Is the 儿 in 儿童 the same as the 儿 sound in 哪儿 and 这儿?
It is the same character, but in 儿童 it is a full syllable ér meaning child. In 哪儿 (nǎr) and 这儿 (zhèr) it is a suffix that adds an r sound to the previous syllable.