ひよこ

also: ひよっこ

ひ

よ

こ

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

chick; young bird; fledgling

usually written using kana alone

Refers to a baby bird, especially a chicken chick. Also used metaphorically for a young, inexperienced person (see sense 2).

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉はまだひよこだsomeone is still a greenhorn/rookie
彼かれはこの業ぎょう界かいではまだひよこだ。
He's still just a rookie in this industry.
ひよこが生うまれるa chick is born/hatches
卵たまごからひよこが生うまれた。
A chick hatched from the egg.
ひよこを育そだてるto raise chicks
農のう家かでひよこを育そだてている。
They are raising chicks on the farm.

Kanji

雛chick, squab, duckling

Related words

新しん人じんN1sense 2
ひよこ (in its metaphorical sense) and 新人 both describe someone new to a job or field, but 新人 is neutral office vocabulary while ひよこ carries a teasing, affectionate tone.
初しょ心しん者しゃN2sense 2
初心者 focuses on lack of skill or experience in an activity, whereas ひよこ emphasizes youth and inexperience in a more playful, personifying way.
ひなN1
雛 refers to a very young bird, often still in the nest, while ひよこ is used for a chick that has already hatched and is a bit older.

Opposites

親おや鳥どり sense 1
ひよこ is a baby chick, while 親鳥 is the adult parent bird that has grown past that stage.
ベテランN2sense 2
ひよこ (metaphorically) describes a total newcomer, the opposite of a ベテラン, someone with long experience and skill.

Don't confuse with

ひなN1sense 1
ひよこ is the everyday word for a baby chicken, while 雛（ひな）read this way usually means a decorative doll (as in ひな祭り) or a young bird in more formal/literary contexts.

Counted with

羽わN3sense 1
ひよこ, like other birds, is conventionally counted with 羽（わ）, e.g. ひよこ一羽.
匹ひきN3
The general counter for small and medium animals — dogs, cats, fish, insects; large animals take 頭.

Written forms

ひよこUsage65%
Usually written in kana; the kanji 雛 is also used but less common in everyday writing.
ヒヨコUsage27%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, common in informal or stylistic contexts.
ひよっこUsage5%
Colloquial or dialectal variant; often used in the phrase ひよっこ野郎.
ヒヨッコUsage3%
雛
- ひよこ
  Kanji form; may also be read ひな for a different meaning (doll, young bird).
- ひよっこ

Etymology

The origin is uncertain, but it is likely a mimetic word related to the chirping sound of chicks (ピヨピヨ). The kanji 雛 is a Chinese character meaning 'young bird' or 'chick'.