What does “kodomo” mean in Japanese?
Japanese people say “kodomo” to mean ‘child’ or ‘kid’ in Japanese. This word can also work as a plural noun; it can mean ‘children’ or ‘kids’ in Japanese. Perhaps, this sounds weird to Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with languages in which singulars are clearly different from plurals. In this blog post, therefore, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “kodomo” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “kodomo”
Let me start with the definition and meanings as follows:
- kodomo – 子供 (こども) : a noun meaning ‘child’ or ‘kid’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun.
The definition and meanings are very simple and clear, I think. However, this word has an interesting and a bit complicated history. The kanji expression represents well the history, so let me explain the kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Kodomo” in kanji
The kanji expression of “kodomo” consists of the following two characters:
- 子 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘child’ or ‘kid’ in Japanese.
- 供 : a kanji character often used as a suffix to make the plural form of its preceding word.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “kodomo” is literally a plural noun meaning ‘children’ or ‘kids’ in Japanese. To tell the truth, this word was originally a plural noun and could work only to mean ‘children’ or ‘kids’. As I explained above, however, this can also work as a singular today. Interestingly, this kind of mixture often happens in the Japanese language: singular nouns start to work plurals as well and plurals start to work singulars as well. This is the reason “kodomo” can also work as a singular noun. Although its second kanji character is obviously a suffix to make a plural form, it can work in both ways.
More interestingly, Japanese native speakers sometimes say “kodomotachi” to mean ‘children’ or ‘kids’ in Japanese. “Tachi” here is a suffix to make the plural form of its preceding word like “domo”. So, the two suffixes are used for the same purpose: plural making. Native speakers do not pay attention that much to whether a noun they use is singular or plural, so this kind of double-plural-making can sometimes happen.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kodomo” and its kanji expression in detail. Next, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “children” in Japanese
kanojo wa kodomo ga suki desu – 彼女は子供が好きです (かのじょはこどもがすきです)
She loves children.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kodomo” to make the object word in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) :one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. In reality, however, this word often works like an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, actually, it works to mean ‘to love’.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “kodomo”. In this example, it works as a plural noun to mean ‘children’ in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “kodomo”
kare wa mada kodomo desu – 彼はまだ子供です (かれはまだこどもです)
He is still a child.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- mada – まだ : an adverb meaning ‘still’ in Japanese.
This is another typical usage of “kodomo”. In this example, it works together with the adverb, “mada”. The formed phrase, “mada kodomo”, is often used to mean ‘still a child’. It’s worth knowing, I think.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the word, “kodomo”, in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kodomo – 子供 (こども) : a noun meaning ‘child’ or ‘kid’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘children’ or ‘kids’ in Japanese. As the kanji suggest, this word was originally a plural noun.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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