General term for a child, from infant to teenager. Can be used as a standalone noun or as a suffix.
She is raising her child alone.
Children are playing in the park.
That kid is still in elementary school.
one's own child; offspring
Refers to one's own son or daughter. Often used with possessive or context to indicate parent-child relationship.
My child will be a junior high school student next year.
She is the mother of three children.
Can refer to a young woman, sometimes written as 娘. Often used in compounds or with a descriptive prefix.
That young woman is very beautiful.
young animal
Used for the young of animals. Often written as 仔 in this sense, but 子 is also common.
See also: 仔 (こ)
The cat gave birth to kittens.
Metaphorical extension: something that branches off from a main entity, like a subsidiary company or a derivative product.
The company established a subsidiary.
Archaic or idiomatic use for interest, as in the phrase 元も子もない (losing both principal and interest; losing everything).
See also: 元も子もない
I ended up losing everything (both principal and interest).
non-dealer (card games, mahjong)
In card games and mahjong, a player who is not the dealer. Opposite of 親.
See also: 親
In mahjong, I won a high-scoring hand as a non-dealer.
young geisha; young prostitute
Historical or euphemistic term for a young geisha or prostitute. Also written 姑.
In the Edo period, there were young geisha called 子.
bird egg
Archaic term for a bird's egg.
In old language, a bird's egg was called 子.
Suffix attached to nouns or masu-stems to indicate a person (often a young woman) associated with that thing or action. E.g., 売り子 (seller girl), 踊り子 (dancer girl).
She works as a salesgirl at a department store.
The dancers performed gracefully on stage.
The puppy is playing in the yard.
They had a child soon after getting married.
My mother gave birth to a child at thirty.
The mother desperately protected her child.
息子 specifically means 'son', whereas 子 is gender-neutral and can refer to a son or daughter.
娘 specifically means 'daughter' or 'young woman', while 子 covers both sexes and is broader in meaning.
子 is the general word for a child that can refer to humans, animals, or small things, while 仔 is a narrower, more technical term used only for the young of animals.
親 means 'parent', the direct opposite of 子 in the parent-child relationship.
郎 is the traditional suffix for male given names, while 子 is the traditional suffix for female given names.
子 refers to the non-dealer players in a card game, the opposite role from the ディーラー (親) who deals the cards.
仔 is a kanji variant used specifically for the young of animals, while 子 is the general, more common character for 'child' or 'young'.
小 (read こ) is a prefix meaning 'small', while 子 (also read こ) is a prefix meaning 'child' or 'small offspring', so 小猫 would mean 'small cat' but 子猫 means 'kitten'.
子 read ね is the zodiac sign 'Rat' used in dates and compass directions, while the same kanji read こ means 'child' – the readings and meanings are unrelated.
The everyday counter for people: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん).
More formal than 人 — used for headcounts in reservations, staff lists, and announcements (5名様).
child; children
son
parent and child
person from (place); person with (trait)
twins; twin
Standard kanji spelling for most senses.
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the kanji is not needed.
Alternate kanji, mainly seen in older or formal contexts.
Native Japanese word. The kanji 子 is a pictograph of a child and has been used for this meaning since ancient times. The reading こ is kun'yomi.
lever · driving force; instrument; helper
kitten · small cat
dango; sweet dumpling · ball-shaped object; round thing · lump; bunch; tight crowd · dango (Go); inefficient clump of stones
beloved child; dear child
child (honorific)
puppy · small dog
babysitting; childcare; babysitter
child actor; child actress · child's role; child's part
one's (former) student; one's pupil; one's disciple
foster child · adopted animal; foster pet
ladder · stairs; ladder-like steps · go to several places in succession; barhop
red bean paste; anko · filling; sweet filling · stuffing; padding
parenthood; having children; expecting parent · containing roe; with eggs
bringing one's child along; with one's child · parent with a child; adult accompanied by a child
doggy; bow-wow; dog
spicy cod roe; mentaiko
dancer; dancing girl
safe childbirth; easy delivery · guardian deity of children; protector of childbirth
soft roe; milt · albino
clapper; noisemaker; bird rattle · naruko; wooden clapper (held in both hands and shaken)
child's room; nursery
pendulum