童どう話わ

ど

う

わ

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

children's story; fairy tale

Broad term covering stories written for children, including both original tales and adaptations of traditional fairy tales.

子こ供どものころ、毎まい晩ばん母ははが童どう話わを読よんでくれた。
When I was a child, my mother read me a children's story every night.
この童どう話わは有ゆう名めいなグリム童どう話わをもとにしている。
This fairy tale is based on a famous Grimm's fairy tale.

See all 25 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

童どう話わを読よむto read a fairy tale / children's story
寝ねる前まえに童どう話わを読よむのが好すきだ。
I like reading a children's story before bed.
〈人ひと〉に童どう話わを読よんで聞きかせるto read a fairy tale aloud to someone
母ははは子こ供どもに童どう話わを読よんで聞きかせた。
The mother read a fairy tale aloud to her child.
童どう話わの世せ界かいthe world of fairy tales
この庭てい園えんは童どう話わの世せ界かいのようだ。
This garden looks like something out of a fairy tale.
童どう話わを書かくto write a children's story
彼かの女じょは将しょう来らい、童どう話わを書かきたいと言いっている。
She says she wants to write children's stories in the future.

Kanji

童juvenile, child
話tale, talk

Related words

おとぎ話ばなし
おとぎ話 leans toward traditional, orally transmitted fairy tales, while 童話 is the broader term covering both classic and newly written children's stories.
昔むかし話ばなしN1
昔話 refers specifically to old folk tales handed down through generations, whereas 童話 can also mean modern children's literature.
児じ童どう文ぶん学がく
児童文学 is a formal, academic term for children's literature as a genre, while 童話 refers more specifically to individual fairy-tale-style stories.
メルヘン
童話 is the plain native Japanese term for a children's fairy tale, while メルヘン evokes a European, dreamy or romantic storybook atmosphere.
物もの語がたりN3
童話 is specifically a children's fairy tale, while 物語 is a general word for stories of any kind or audience.

Don't confuse with

民みん話わN1
童話 is a fairy tale or children's story, often written for young readers, while 民話 refers to traditional oral folk narratives handed down within a community.

Counted with

話わ
counter for stories; counter for episodes

Word family

童どう話わ劇げき
children's play; fairy-tale play
童どう話わ作さっ家か
writer of children's stories

Etymology

Compound of 童 (child) and 話 (story). The term was coined in the Meiji era to describe the emerging genre of children's literature, influenced by Western concepts of fairy tales and children's stories.