赤ちゃん
あかちゃん
hepburn akachan
baby, infant
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 赤ちゃんが泣いています。The baby is crying.
- 赤ちゃんを抱っこしてもいいですか。May I hold the baby?
Collocations
赤ちゃん (akachan, baby)赤ん坊 (akanbou, infant — slightly older term)赤ちゃん言葉 (akachan kotoba, baby talk)生まれたばかり (umareta bakari, newborn)おむつ (omutsu, diaper)
Mnemonic
赤ちゃん akachan — 赤 (red) + ちゃん (affectionate suffix). Why "red"? Because newborn skin is reddish. Compare: Korean gatnan-agi names the moment of birth, Japanese names the color, English "baby" comes from babbling sounds. Three languages, three sensory channels (time / sight / sound) for the same referent — a window into how naming encodes attention.
Quick check
What does 赤 in 赤ちゃん refer to?