Meaning of 少年
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- early youth
- youngster
- (literary) youth; young man
How to use 少年
少年 usually means a boy or young person from about ten to the late teens, and it often sounds a little literary or warm. It appears in phrases like 少年时代 (shàonián shídài, one's youth). Example: 他是一个快乐的少年。(Tā shì yí ge kuàilè de shàonián.) He is a happy youngster.
少年 combines 少 (shào, young) and 年 (nián, year or age). Think of it as someone whose years are still few, so a young person.
Common mistake: Learners often read 少 here as shǎo (few), as in 多少 (duōshao), but in 少年 it is fourth tone: shàonián. Also do not confuse 少 with 小 (xiǎo), which lacks the final slanted stroke.
少年 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.
少 shǎo · few · 4 strokes
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- 2
- 3
- 4
年 nián · year · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 少年.
| 多少 | duōshao | number; amount; somewhat |
| 今年 | jīnnián | this year |
| 去年 | qùnián | last year |
| 明年 | míngnián | next year |
| 半年 | bàn nián | half a year |
| 新年 | xīnnián | New Year |
| 年轻 | niánqīng | young |
| 不少 | bù shǎo | many; quite a few; a good number of |
| 青年 | qīngnián | youth; youthful years |
| 青少年 | qīng-shàonián | adolescent; youth |
| 少数 | shǎoshù | small number; few |
| 周年 | zhōunián | anniversary; annual |
Questions about 少年
What does 少年 mean?
少年 (shàonián) means "early youth; youngster" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 少年?
少年 is made of 2 characters: 少 (4 strokes), 年 (6 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 少年 an HSK word?
Yes. 少年 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 少年 and 青年?
少年 (shàonián) refers to early youth, roughly preteens and teenagers. 青年 (qīngnián) refers to young adults, roughly late teens to thirties. A 少年 grows up into a 青年.
Can 少年 be used for girls?
In modern usage 少年 most often suggests a boy, and a girl is usually called 少女 (shàonǚ). However, in terms like 少年宫 (shàoniángōng, children's palace) or 青少年 (qīngshàonián, teenagers), it covers young people of both sexes.