Clinical or formal term for a person with a sexual preference for children. In everyday conversation, more indirect expressions are often used.
A pedophile may be medically diagnosed with pedophilic disorder.
Refers to pedophilia as a condition or orientation, while 小児愛者 refers to the person.
Compound of 小児 (shōni, 'young child') + 愛 (ai, 'love') + 者 (sha, 'person'). The term is a modern coinage, likely influenced by Western clinical terminology.