What does “shounen” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “shounen” to mean ‘boy’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, 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 understand “shounen” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “shounen”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “shounen”.
- shounen – 少年 (しょうねん) : a noun meaning ‘boy’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
This noun is suitable more for formal or business situations than for daily conversations. Indeed, Japanese manga for boys are called “shounen manga”. This is obviously part of the Japanese (or perhaps, not only Japanese) manga business.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
What does “shounen” literally mean in Japanese?
The kanji expression of “shounen” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 少 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘little’, ‘small’, ‘tiny’, or such in Japanese. This can also be found in other words like “sukunai“.
- 年 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘year’ or ‘age’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that “shounen” literally means a ‘small age’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. Being small and being very young are more or less the same and those can characterize boys in Japanese.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “shounen” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “shounen” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “boy” in Japanese
shounen ga watashi ni hanashikake ta – 少年が私に話し掛けた (しょうねんがわたしにはなしかけた)
A boy spoke to me.
Below are the new words used in the example 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 “shounen” to make the subject in the sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to indicate to whom the boy spoke.
- hanashikake – 話し掛け (はなしかけ) : one conjugation of the verb, “hanashikakeru“, which means ‘to speak to’ or ‘to talk to’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “hanashikake” to make its past tense form, “hanashikake ta”.
This is a typical usage of “shounen”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “ga”, to become the subject in the sentence. When we want to refer to a boy or boys in a formal way in Japanese, this noun is a good option.
Example #2: another usage of “shounen”
boku tachi wa shounen manga ga suki desu – 僕達は少年漫画が好きです (ぼくたちはしょうねんまんががすきです)
We love shounen manga.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- manga – 漫画 (まんが) : a noun meaning ‘manga’ or ‘comic’ in Japanese. This noun is already very famous as part of the Japanese culture, I think.
- suki – 好き (すき) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used 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 another typical usage of “shounen”. In this example, it works as a part of the longer noun, “shounen manga”, which literally means ‘manga for boys’ in Japanese. This longer noun has been exported to many countries and therefore is already very famous as one genre among Japanese manga fans, I think.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “shounen” 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.
- shounen – 少年 (しょうねん) : a noun meaning ‘boy’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. This noun is suitable more for formal or business situations than for daily conversations. Indeed, Japanese manga for boys are called “shounen manga”. This is obviously part of the Japanese (or perhaps, not only Japanese) manga business. These two kanji characters literally mean a ‘small age’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. Being small and being very young are more or less the same and those can characterize boys in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
