HSK · Level 11
135 words
Chinese word
少儿
Pronunciation
Pinyinshào ér
Meaning
- nounchildren
Example
学校有少儿班。xué xiào yǒu shào ér bān
The school has a class for children.
More examples
电视台推出了新的少儿节目。diàn shì tái tuī chū le xīn de shào ér jié mù
The TV station launched a new children's program.
Core concept
A broad label for young children as a group, from preschool age into the early school years.
Common phrases
少儿教育shào ér jiào yù
children's education
少儿节目shào ér jié mù
children's program
少儿图书shào ér tú shū
children's books
Similar words
孩子hái zi: An everyday term for a child, often used by parents or other people close to the child.
小孩xiǎo hái: A casual spoken term for a young child.
儿童ér tóng: Children as a formal category in education, welfare, and other public settings.
小朋友xiǎo péng yǒu: A friendly way for adults to address or refer to a child.
Definition in Chinese
指年纪小的儿童，通常指需要照顾和接受教育的幼童，常用于书面或机构名称中。zhǐ nián jì xiǎo de ér tóng tōng cháng zhǐ xū yào zhào gù hé jiē shòu jiào yù de yòu tóng cháng yòng yú shū miàn huò jī gòu míng chēng zhōng
Word origin
少儿 (shàoér, "young children") combines 少 (shào, "young") with 儿 (ér, "child"), so its meaning is built directly from the idea of children who are young.
Usage tips
- In everyday conversation, this noun often sounds more official than ordinary family language because it is common in school, media, and public-service labels.
Other meanings
- schoolchildrennoun
- preschoolersnoun
Opposites
- 成人chéng rénadultnoun
- 成年人chéng nián réngrown-upnoun
Related words
- 少儿频道shào ér pín dàochildren's channelnoun
- 少儿文学shào ér wén xuéchildren's literaturenoun
- 少儿班shào ér bānchildren's classnoun