haai4 tung4孩童
Jyutpinghaai4 tung4
Yalehàaih tùhng
Definition
Child; kid.
colloquialpeoplefamily
How it's used
小朋友 is the standard, everyday term for a child in Cantonese, whereas 孩童 is almost exclusively used in formal writing or literature. Using 孩童 in casual conversation sounds stiff and unnatural, similar to using the word "juvenile" or "offspring" when simply referring to a kid. It is common to add the classifier 個 or 啲 before it to specify quantity.
Measure word
go3個goRelated words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use 孩童 in daily speech because it appears in dictionaries, but it sounds overly academic or literary. Always use 小朋友 when speaking to or about children in real life.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
