児 — “child” in Japanese

Grade 4じ, に

Radical ⼉ · radical 10 The building block this kanji is filed under

“child” in Japanese is 児, read ji, ni (じ, に). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 幼児 (infant / young child).

Try it now

What does 児 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	児
Meaning	child
Readings	じ, に
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	幼児 (infant / young child)

How to read 児

児 is read ji (じ) or ni (に) depending on the word.

Words with 児

球児きゅうじ
幼児
胎児
鹿児島

Learn 児 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Read this character in a real sentence

🪀 Kendama: the Japanese wooden toy with kyu ranks, dan grades and a world cup Grade 5
🚸 Why Japanese children walk to school alone from the age of six Grade 6
🐬 鹿児島の水族館でイルカが大人気 Grade 4

Updated: 2026-08-28