Meaning of 童年
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- childhood
How to use 童年
童年 is a noun for the period of being a child, often used when people talk about memories or the past. It often appears with 回忆 (huíyì, memories) or 快乐 (kuàilè, happy). Example: 我的童年很快乐。(Wǒ de tóngnián hěn kuàilè.) My childhood was very happy.
童 (tóng) means child, as in 儿童 (értóng), and 年 (nián) means year. Put them together and you get the years when you were a child: childhood.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 童 as 重 (zhòng, heavy), which looks similar but lacks the 立 on top. Also, 童年 names a time period, not a person, so use 孩子 (háizi) or 儿童 (értóng) when you mean a child.
童年 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.
童 tóng · child · 12 strokes
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年 nián · year · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 童年.
Questions about 童年
What does 童年 mean?
童年 (tóngnián) means "childhood" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 童年?
童年 is made of 2 characters: 童 (12 strokes), 年 (6 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 童年 an HSK word?
Yes. 童年 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 童年 and 小时候?
Both refer to when you were young. 小时候 (xiǎo shíhou) is more casual and common in everyday speech, as in 我小时候 (when I was little). 童年 sounds a bit more formal or literary and works well as a noun, as in 我的童年 (my childhood).
How do I say childhood memories in Chinese?
You can say 童年回忆 (tóngnián huíyì) or 童年的回忆. For example, 这首歌是我的童年回忆。(Zhè shǒu gē shì wǒ de tóngnián huíyì.) This song is a childhood memory for me.