子どもの頃
kodomo no koro
The Japanese phrase for "when I was a child" is 子どもの頃 (kodomo no koro).
子どもの頃 is used to refer to the period of time during one's own childhood. If you wish to refer more specifically to the stage of early childhood, you can use 幼少時代.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 子ども (child), the possessive particle の (of) and 頃 (time/period/around the time of), literally meaning "child's time/period".
Which one should you use?
You may also see the phrase written as 子供の頃, where the word for child uses kanji. This carries the exact same meaning.
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding the particle は after the phrase to create 子どもの頃は creates a topic-setting effect. This is often used when you want to contrast habits or states from your childhood with your current life.
How do you pronounce it?
kodomo no koro
Did you know?
- While 子ども is the common word for 'child', the traditional kanji 子供 contains a character that literally means 'servant' or 'attendant'. Because of this, many schools and government offices now write the word in hiragana to avoid the negative connotation.
- In many Japanese children's songs or stories, you may encounter the older, more poetic term 童の頃 (warabe no koro).
- While 子どもの頃 is standard, you might hear people use the term 子供時代 (kodomo-jidai) in literature or news, which treats childhood as a formal historical 'era' or 'age' rather than just a vague period of time.
Examples in context
- 子どもの頃、腕を骨折しました。I broke my arm when I was a child.This sentence is useful for describing an injury that happened with 子どもの頃.Tatoeba #11484313 by small_snow, translation #2940555 by astyng
- 私は子どもの頃、魚が食べられなかった。I couldn't eat fish when I was a child.This sentence is useful for describing food preferences with 子どもの頃.Tatoeba #156577 by bunbuku, translation #257957 by CK
- 子どもの頃、あの公園でよく遊んでたな。When I was a child, I used to play in that park.This sentence is useful for reminiscing about past activities with 子どもの頃.Tatoeba #11306892 by small_snow, translation #11268561 by CK
- 私は子供の頃、夢中になって絵を描いた。When I was a child, I was obsessed with drawing.
- 私は幼い頃、元気いっぱい遊んでいた。When I was young, I played with full energy.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki and Yota are talking about their hometowns.
- 美咲 Misaki子どもの頃は、ここでよく泳いだものです。Kodomo no koro wa, koko de yoku oyoida mono desu.When I was a child, I used to swim here often.
- 陽太 Yotaいいですね。陽太は泳げませんでした。Ii desu ne. Youta wa oyogemasen deshita.That's nice. Yota couldn't swim.
- 美咲 Misaki本当ですか？意外です。Hontou desu ka? Igai desu.Really? That's surprising.
- 陽太 Yotaはい。水が怖かったんです。Hai. Mizu ga kowakatta n desu.Yes. I was afraid of the water.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
