infancy; childhood; young child
Bound noun used almost exclusively in the pattern 幼にして, meaning 'while still a child' or 'in one's childhood'. Not used as a standalone word for 'child'.
彼は幼にして両親を失った。
He lost his parents while still a child.
幼にしてその才能を発揮した。
He displayed his talent in childhood.
He lost both his parents while still a child.
子供 is the everyday word meaning 'child' and can be used anywhere, whereas 幼 looks like it might mean the same thing but is a literary bound form restricted to the set phrase 幼にして.
young child; toddler · child over 1 but not yet of school age
little girl; young girl
infancy; childhood; tender age
larva; grub; maggot
infancy; very young age · childish; immature; infantile · rudimentary; underdeveloped; primitive
infants and toddlers; babies and preschool children
childhood; infancy
larva; larvae
The kanji 幼 means 'young' or 'childhood'. The reading よう is the on'yomi. The word is a bound form used in classical or literary contexts.
fry; young fish
immature form; young animal; juvenile
young bird; juvenile bird; chick
childhood; infancy
childhood name
kindergartens and day-care centers
kindergarten graduate; uneducated person; idiot · kindergarten attendee (as opposed to nursery school)
young lord; young master
young emperor
young and weak; immature and vulnerable
young tree; sapling
radicle
young animal; juvenile animal
little child; young child