赤ちゃん – What is Baby in Japanese?

A baby is a small, very young person. Babies are everywhere and everyone was a baby at one time in their life. If you are learning Japanese this is another must-know word. So, what is baby in Japanese? Let’s take a look.

What is Baby in Japanese?

The word for baby in Japanese is 赤あかん坊ぼう or more commonly 赤ちゃん. This word actually comes from the color red which is the word 赤. If we look at the definition of 赤ん坊 at weblio.jp, then a baby is a child which is just born or could refer to an unborn baby to an infant which is still getting milk from its mother. The word 赤ちゃん though can mean different things to different people.

How to Count People in Japanese

Some people may consider the time someone stops being a baby different from someone else. Some people will say once the baby starts walking they are not a baby anymore. Others may consider the length of time to end once the baby can start talking. Some people also may consider a set time such as one year old to be the cut-off time. So, I would say in general you can call a baby 赤ちゃん up until they are around one year at the latest.

https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/

More Words for Baby

If you want to be more specific about what to call a baby you can break down their period of development into a few different categories.

胎児

First, if you want to talk about a baby that is still in the womb, you could call it 胎児たいじ. This means a fetus or an unborn child.

新生児

After a baby is born you can start using a new word. 新生児しんせいじ has a specific time period. It is a baby that is under 28 days old. This would be a newborn baby in English.

乳児

Now that you have passed the 28-day mark the next word to know is 乳児にゅうじ. This word means a baby that is still breastfeeding and is under a year old.

幼児

Finally, we have a word that crosses boundaries. The word 幼児ようじ is any child past one year up to the age of entering the elementary school at 6.

If you are interested in learning Japanese I have reviewed what I consider the best resource for Japanese Grammar below:

Resources

• 赤ちゃん – Wikipedia (Japanese)