Taxonomy of meanings for 幼:　　

  • 幼 yòu (OC: qriws MC: ʔɨu) 伊謬切 去 廣韻：【少也伊謬切一 】
    • YOUNG
      • nsubject=nonrefthe young; the younger
      • nabsocialjunior status
      • v[adN]nonreferentialone who is young
      • vadNyoung
      • vibe young
      • vtoNattitudinalto treat somebody in a way which is appropriate for the treatment of young people
      • v-p.adVwhen youngCH
      • nabyouth, time of youthCH
    • BABY
      • BEGIN
        • SILKWORM
          • SURNAMES

            Additional information about 幼

            說文解字: 【幼】，少也。从幺、从力。 【伊謬切】

              Criteria
            • OLD MAN

              1. Sǒu 叟 (ant. tóng 童 "young boy") and the somewhat rarer zhàng rén 丈人 (ant. hái tí 孩提 "child") refer respectfully to a venerable old man of some status.

              2. Fǔ 父 is a southern dialect word referring to an old man.

              3. Lǎo 老 (ant. yòu 幼 "young person") is a neutral term referring generically to the aged, including men and women.

              4. Wēng 翁 (ant. ér 兒 "young child") refers generally to an old man without suggestions of venerability, but the word became current only in Han times.

            • YOUNG

              1. The current general "absolute" word for tender youth is yòu 幼 (ant. zhǎng 長 "grown up"), and this word refers to young age of animals, as well as humans.

              2. Zhì 稚 (ant. zhǎng 長 "grown up") refers "absolutely" to young age in humans, but the word came to refer to young age in animals as well at later stages from Song times onwards.

              3. Shào 少 (ant. zhǎng 長 "grown up") is a comparative term and refers specifically to relatively young age in humans; note that a person remains shào 少 "junior" (ant. zhǎng 長 "senior") in respect to elders until he is very old indeed.

            • OLD

              1. The general term for old age of living creatures is lǎo 老 "of old age" (ant. shào 少 "still youthful" and yòu 幼 "young"), whereas the general term for things not new is jiù 舊 (ant. xīn 新 "new").

              2. Wǎng 往 (ant. lái 來 "future") refers to times past.

              3. Gù 故 (ant. xīn 新 ) refers to what is a matter of the past which typically has an impact on, or traces in, the present.

              4. Chén 陳 (ant. xīn 新 ) refers to what is stale and no longer new and fresh.

              Word relations
            • Ant: (YOUNG)壯/ADULT The current word for an adult is zhuàng 壯. [GENERAL], [GENERAL-USE]
            • Ant: (YOUNG)老/OLD The general term for old age of living creatures is lǎo 老 "of old age" (ant. shào 少 "still youthful" and yòu 幼 "young"), whereas the general term for things not new is jiù 舊 (ant. xīn 新 "new").
            • Ant: (YOUNG)長/SENIOR
            • Epithet: (YOUNG)狂/CRAZY
            • Assoc: (YOUNG)弱/WEAK The current general word for weakness of any physical or abstract kind, and of anything including states, persons, and animals is ruò 弱 (ant. qiáng 強 "strong").
            • Assoc: (YOUNG)少/YOUNG Shào 少 (ant. zhǎng 長 "grown up") is a comparative term and refers specifically to relatively young age in humans; note that a person remains shào 少 "junior" (ant. zhǎng 長 "senior") in respect to elders until he is very old indeed.