少年

Chinese

		young; few; little young; few; little; lack	year
simp. and trad. (少年)		少	年
anagram		年少

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): shàonián

(Zhuyin): ㄕㄠˋ ㄋㄧㄢˊ

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): шонян (šoni͡an, III-I)
Cantonese (Jyutping): siu³ nin⁴
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): seu-ngièn / seu-ngiàn
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): siàu-liân

(Teochew, Peng'im): siao³ ni⁵

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: shàonián
  - Zhuyin: ㄕㄠˋ ㄋㄧㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: shàonián
  - Wade–Giles: shao⁴-nien²
  - Yale: shàu-nyán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shawnian
  - Palladius: шаонянь (šaonjanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: шонян (šoni͡an, III-I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɔ⁴⁴ niæ̃²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: siu³ nin⁴
  - Yale: siu nìhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: siu³ nin⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: xiu³ nin⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːu̯³³ niːn²¹/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: seu-ngièn
  - Hakka Romanization System: seu ngien^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: seu⁴ ngian²
  - Sinological IPA: /seu̯⁵⁵ ŋi̯en¹¹/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: seu-ngiàn
  - Hakka Romanization System: seu ngian^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: seu⁴ ngian²
  - Sinological IPA: /seu̯⁵⁵ ŋi̯an¹¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Philippines)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siàu-liân
  - Tâi-lô: siàu-liân
  - Phofsit Daibuun: siaolieen
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /siau²¹⁻⁴¹ liɛn²³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /siau¹¹⁻⁵³ liɛn²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Philippines): /siau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ liɛn²⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /siau²¹⁻⁵³ liɛn²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /siau²¹⁻⁵³ liɛn¹³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: siao³ ni⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: siàu nî
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siau²¹³⁻⁵⁵ ni⁵⁵/

Middle Chinese: syewH nen

Rime
Character	少	年
Reading #	2/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	書 (26)	泥 (8)
Final (韻)	宵 (91)	先 (85)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	IV
Fanqie	失照切	奴顚切
Baxter	syewH	nen
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɕiᴇu^H/	/nen/
Pan Wuyun	/ɕiɛu^H/	/nen/
Shao Rongfen	/ɕjæu^H/	/nɛn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɕiaw^H/	/nɛn/
Li Rong	/ɕiɛu^H/	/nen/
Wang Li	/ɕĭɛu^H/	/nien/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɕi̯ɛu^H/	/nien/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shào	nián
Expected Cantonese Reflex	siu³	nin⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[s-t]ewʔ-s C.nˤi[ŋ]/

(Zhengzhang): /*hmjews niːŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	少	年
Reading #	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shào	nián
Middle Chinese	‹ syew^H ›	‹ nen ›
Old Chinese	/*[s-t]ewʔ-s/	/*C.nˁi[ŋ]/
English	young	harvest; year
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	少	年
Reading #	2/2	1/1
No.	13708	9482
Phonetic component	小	秊
Rime group	宵	眞
Rime subdivision	2	2
Corresponding MC rime	少
Old Chinese	/*hmjews/	/*niːŋ/
Notes		同秊

Noun

少年

early youth (from ten to sixteen years old)
少年時代／少年时代 ― shàonián shídài ― early youth
juvenile; youngster
(literary) young man; boy

Synonyms

(slang) 騷年／骚年 (sāonián)

Derived terms

不經事少年／不经事少年
不良少年 (bùliáng shàonián)
千金難買少年窮／千金难买少年穷 (qiānjīn nán mǎi shàonián qióng)
問題少年／问题少年
少年人
少年先鋒隊／少年先锋队 (shàonián xiānfēngduì)
少年宮／少年宫 (shàoniángōng)
少年愛／少年爱 (shàonián'ài)
少年才俊
少年法庭
少年犯 (shàoniánfàn)
少年犯罪 (shàonián fànzuì)
少年福利法
少年組／少年组
少年維特的煩惱／少年维特的烦恼
少年老成
少年若無一擺戇，路邊哪有有應公／少年若无一摆戆，路边哪有有应公
少年袂曉想，食老毋成樣／少年袂晓想，食老毋成样
少年觀護所／少年观护所
少年輔育院／少年辅育院
少年郎
心寬出少年／心宽出少年
慘綠少年／惨绿少年
老人毋講古，少年毋捌寶／老人毋讲古，少年毋捌宝
老少年
英雄出少年 (yīngxióng chū shàonián)
虞犯少年
裙屐少年
過了青春無少年／过了青春无少年
青少年 (qīngshàonián)
青少年問題／青少年问题
青少年犯罪 (qīngshàonián fànzuì)

Adjective

少年

(literary or Hokkien, Zhao'an Hakka) young

Synonyms

edit

年紀不大／年纪不大 (niánjì bù dà)
年輕／年轻 (niánqīng)
年青 (niánqīng)

Dialectal synonyms of 年輕 (“young”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		少
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		年輕
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	年輕
	Taiwan	年輕
	Malaysia	年輕
	Singapore	年輕
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	年輕
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	年輕
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	年輕
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	年輕
	Wuhan	年輕
	Liuzhou	後生
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	年輕
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	年輕
Cantonese	Guangzhou	後生, 年紀嫩, 年青
	Hong Kong	後生, 年青, 年輕
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	後生
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	後生
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	後生
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	後生
	Macau	後生
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	後生
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	後生
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	後生
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	後生
	Foshan	後生
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	後生
	Foshan (Shunde)	後生
	Foshan (Sanshui)	後生
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	年嫩
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	後生
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	後生
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	後生
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	後生
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	後生
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	後生
	Taishan	後生
	Kaiping (Chikan)	後生
	Enping (Niujiang)	後生
	Heshan (Yayao)	後生
	Dongguan	後生
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	後生
	Yangjiang	後生
	Danzhou	嫩
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	後生
	Singapore (Guangfu)	後生
Gan	Nanchang	年輕, 後生
	Lichuan	年輕, 後生
	Pingxiang	後生
Hakka	Meixian	後生
	Xingning	後生
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	後生
	Huidong (Daling)	後生
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	後生
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	後生
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	後生
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	後生
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	後生
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	後生
	Changting	後生
	Wuping	後生
	Wuping (Pingyu)	後生
	Liancheng	後生
	Ninghua	後生
	Ruijin	後生
	Shicheng	後生
	Shangyou (Shexi)	後生
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	後生
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	後生
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	後生
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	後生
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	後生
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	少年
	Hong Kong	後生
	Senai (Huiyang)	後生
	Singkawang	後生
Huizhou	Jixi	後生
Jin	Taiyuan	年輕
Northern Min	Jian'ou	後生
	Jianyang	後生
	Pucheng (Shibei)	後生
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	後生
	Fuqing	後生
	Matsu	後生, 年輕
	Singapore (Fuqing)	年輕
Southern Min	Xiamen	少年
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	少年
	Quanzhou	少年
	Zhangzhou	少年
	Zhao'an	後生
	Taipei	少年, 細漢
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	細漢
	Kaohsiung	少年, 細漢
	Yilan	少年, 細漢
	Changhua (Lukang)	少年, 細漢
	Taichung	少年, 細漢
	Taichung (Wuqi)	少年
	Tainan	少年, 細漢
	Taitung	少年
	Hsinchu	少年, 細漢
	Kinmen	少年, 細漢
	Penghu (Magong)	少年, 細漢
	Penang (Hokkien)	少年
	Singapore (Hokkien)	少年, 後生
	Manila (Hokkien)	少年, 少歲, 後生
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	少年, 後生仔
	Datian	後生
	Chaozhou	後生
	Shantou	後生
	Shantou (Chenghai)	後生
	Jieyang	後生
	Bangkok (Teochew)	後生
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	後生
	Singapore (Teochew)	後生
	Leizhou	後生
	Wenchang	幼, 年青
	Haikou	幼
	Singapore (Hainanese)	幼
Puxian Min	Putian	後生
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	後生
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	後生
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	後生
	Xianyou	後生
	Xianyou (Fengting)	後生
	Xianyou (Youyang)	後生
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	後生
Wu	Shanghai	年輕, 後生
	Suzhou	年紀輕
	Hangzhou	後生
	Ningbo	後生, 年紀輕
	Wenzhou	後生
Xiang	Changsha	冒年紀, 年輕
Xiang	Shuangfeng	冒年紀

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (少年):

→ Japanese: 少(しょう)年(ねん) (shōnen)
→ Korean: 소년(少年) (sonyeon)
→ Vietnamese: thiếu niên (少年)

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

少年

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Boy

Wikipedia

少年 (shōnen): a boy.

Kanji in this term
少	年
しょう Grade: 2	ねん Grade: 1
on'yomi

Etymology

/seunen/ → /ɕeunen/ → /ɕoːnen/

Borrowing from Middle Chinese 少年 (syew^H 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]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) しょーねん [shòónéń] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ːnẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

少(しょう)年(ねん) • (shōnen) ^{←せうねん (seunen)^?}

a boy, a young man
少(しょう)年(ねん)時(じ)代(だい)
shōnen jidai
childhood, boyhood

少(しょう)年(ねん)はこの漫(まん)画(が)が大(だい)好(す)きで、もう売(う)り切(き)れになっています。
Shōnen wa kono manga ga daisuki de, mō urikire ni natte imasu.
Boys really like this manga, and it's already sold out.
- 2011 February 9, Hideaki Sorachi, “第(だい)三(さん)百(びゃく)三(さん)十(じゅう)四(よん)訓(くん)　銭(せん)湯(とう)では身(み)も心(こころ)も丸(まる)裸(はだか)”, in 銀(ぎん)魂(たま), volume 38 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:
  
  バーさん　俺(おれ)は心(こころ)は少(しょう)年(ねん)だから二(ふた)人(り)で200(にひゃく)円(えん)で頼(たの)むわ
  Bā-san ore wa kokoro wa shōnen da kara futari de nihyaku-en de tanomu wa
  Granny, I’m still a boy at heart, so make it 200 yen for two.
- 2017 April 15, “星(せい)杯(はい)に選(えら)ばれし者(もの)”, in CODE(コード) OF(オブ) THE(ザ) DUELIST(デュエリスト), Konami:
  
  機(き)怪(かい)の残(ざん)骸(がい)で武(ぶ)装(そう)する、真(ま)っ直(す)ぐな心(こころ)の少(しょう)年(ねん)。
  Kikai no zangai de busō suru, massugu na kokoro no shōnen.
  An upright boy armed with the remains of Mechstrosities.

Derived terms

少(しょう)年(ねん)愛(あい) (shōnen'ai, “pederasty, love of boys”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)院(いん) (shōnen'in, “reform school, juvenile reformatory, juvie”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)会(かい) (shōnenkai, “youth conference”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)感(かん)化(か)院(いん) (shōnen kankain, “reform school, juvenile reformatory, juvie”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)鑑(かん)別(べつ)所(しょ) (shōnen kanbetsusho, “juvenile hall, Juvenile Classification Office”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)少(しょう)女(じょ) (shōnen shōjo, “boys and girls”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)裁(さい)判(ばん)所(しょ) (shōnen saibansho, “juvenile court”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)団(だん) (shōnendan, “youth association, youth group”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)犯(はん)罪(ざい) (shōnen hanzai, “juvenile crime (by a male)”)
少(しょう)年(ねん)犯(はん)罪(ざい)者(しゃ) (shōnen hanzaisha, “juvenile delinquent, juvenile offender (male)”)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
少	年

Noun

少年 • (sonyeon) (hangeul 소년)

hanja form^? of 소년 (“boy, young person”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
少	年

Noun

少年

chữ Hán form of thiếu niên (“related to adolescence”).

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]

少年

Contents

Chinese

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Adjective

Synonyms

Descendants

Further reading

Japanese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

See also

References

Korean

Noun

Vietnamese

Noun