young; few; little young; few; little; lack |
year | ||
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simp. and trad. (少年) |
少 | 年 | |
anagram | 年少 |
少年
少年
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
少 | 年 |
しょう Grade: 2 |
ねん Grade: 1 |
on'yomi |
/seunen/ → /ɕeunen/ → /ɕoːnen/
Borrowing from Middle Chinese 少年 (syewH nen, literally “young + years”). Compare modern Cantonese 少年 (siu3 nin4), Mandarin 少年 (shàonián), Korean 소년 (sonyeon), Vietnamese thiếu niên.
Originally referred to young people of either gender. The meaning has narrowed in modern usage to more commonly refer to boys of elementary school or middle school age.[1]
Hanja in this term | |
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少 | 年 |
chữ Hán Nôm in this term | |
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少 | 年 |
少年