小朋友 meaning in English
child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to refer to sb's own child)
Meaning of 小朋友
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to refer to sb's own child)
How to use 小朋友
Adults use 小朋友 to talk about children in general or to address a child they do not know, much like "kiddo" or "little one." Teachers often address a class this way. Example: 小朋友，你几岁了？ (Xiǎopéngyǒu, nǐ jǐ suì le?) Little one, how old are you?
小朋友 is literally 小 (xiǎo, small) plus 朋友 (péngyou, friend). A child is a "little friend," which is how adults warmly talk to kids.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes think 小朋友 means "a young friend" or "a friend of mine." It almost always just means a child, so 我的小朋友 usually sounds like "my kid" (common in Taiwan), not "my little buddy." Also note the tones: in 朋友 alone, 友 is usually neutral (péngyou), but the dictionary lists 小朋友 as xiǎopéngyǒu, and you will hear both.
小朋友 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.
小 xiǎo · small · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
朋 péng · friend · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
友 yǒu · friend · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 小朋友.
| 朋友 | péngyou | friend |
| 小姐 | xiǎojiě | young lady; miss |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour |
| 女朋友 | nǚpéngyou | girlfriend |
| 男朋友 | nánpéngyou | boyfriend |
| 小学 | xiǎoxué | elementary school; primary school |
| 小孩儿 | xiǎoháir | erhua variant of 小孩[xiao3 hai2] |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 网友 | wǎngyǒu | online friend; netizen; Internet user |
| 朋友们 | péngyoumen | |
| 小心 | xiǎoxīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 小时候 | xiǎoshíhou | in one's childhood |
Questions about 小朋友
What does 小朋友 mean?
小朋友 (xiǎopéngyǒu) means "child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to refer to sb's own child)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 小朋友?
小朋友 is made of 3 characters: 小 (3 strokes), 朋 (8 strokes), 友 (4 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 小朋友 an HSK word?
Yes. 小朋友 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can I call a child 小朋友 to their face, or is it rude?
It is polite and friendly. Shop staff, teachers and strangers commonly say 小朋友 when speaking directly to a child.
What is the difference between 小朋友 and 孩子 (háizi)?
孩子 is the neutral, everyday word for child and is used for one's own children, as in 我有两个孩子. 小朋友 is warmer and more often used when addressing kids or speaking about children in a gentle way.