幼おさななじみ

お

さ

な

じ

み

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

childhood friend; old playmate

Refers to a friend one has known since early childhood, often with a sense of deep familiarity.

彼かの女じょは私わたしの幼おさななじみで、幼よう稚ち園えんからずっと一いっ緒しょです。
She is my childhood friend; we've been together since kindergarten.
幼おさななじみと久ひさしぶりに会あって、昔むかし話ばなしに花はなが咲さいた。
I met my old playmate after a long time, and we talked endlessly about the old days.

See all 30 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の幼おさななじみsomeone's childhood friend
彼かの女じょは私わたしの幼おさななじみです。
She is my childhood friend.
幼おさななじみに再さい会かいするto run into/reunite with a childhood friend
駅えきで幼おさななじみに再さい会かいした。
I ran into a childhood friend at the station.
幼おさななじみと結けっ婚こんするto marry one's childhood friend
二人ふたりは幼おさななじみと結けっ婚こんすることになった。
The two ended up marrying their childhood friends.

Kanji

幼infancy, childhood
馴get used to, experienced, tamed
染dye, color, paint

Related words

友とも達だちN5
友達 is a general word for 'friend' with no implication of when the friendship began, while 幼なじみ specifically means a friend known since early childhood.
親しん友ゆうN4
親友 emphasizes how close a friend is now, whereas 幼なじみ emphasizes that the friendship started in childhood, regardless of current closeness.
竹ちく馬ばの友とも
竹馬の友 is a literary, somewhat old-fashioned idiom for a childhood friend, while 幼なじみ is the common everyday word for the same idea.
旧きゅう友ゆうN1
幼馴染 refers specifically to a friend from childhood, while 旧友 can refer to any friend known for a long time, not necessarily since childhood.

Don't confuse with

幼おさな子ご
幼馴染 (childhood friend) shares the おさな- reading and 幼 kanji with 幼子 but refers to a friendship from childhood, not to a young child itself.

Written forms

幼なじみUsage59%
- おさななじみ
  Most common spelling; uses the standard reading おさななじみ.
- おさなじみ
  irregular kana usage
幼馴染Usage21%
- おさななじみ
  Kanji spelling using 馴染; less common but still seen.
- おさなじみ
  irregular kana usage
幼馴染みUsage19%
- おさななじみ
  Variant with okurigana み; less common.
- おさなじみ
  irregular kana usage
おさななじみUsage2%
Kana spelling; used when avoiding kanji or for clarity.
おさなじみ
irregular kana usage

Etymology

Compound of 幼 (おさな, 'childhood') and 馴染み (なじみ, 'familiarity, acquaintance'). The reading おさななじみ is the standard form; the variant おさなじみ is an irregular contraction.