小朋友 (xiǎo péng yǒu)

Character breakdown

• 小 (xiǎo) · 3 strokes

  Depicts three small dots, representing the meaning "small". Originally the same character as 少. The small dots possibly represent grains of sand (沙).

• 朋 (péng) · 8 strokes

  Depicts a pair of strings of jade mounted together. The meaning later shifted to "friend". Not related to 月 (moon), despite the visual similarity.

• 友 (yǒu) · 4 strokes

  Pictograph of two hands together to convey the meaning "friend". 又 also represents the sound.

Example sentences

1. 小朋友多是外国人。 — Most of the kids are foreigners.
2. 小朋友都是外国人。 — Children are all foreigners.
3. 教小朋友并不容易。 — To teach young children is not easy.
4. 茄汁意粉是小朋友的最爱。 — Kids love pasta in tomato sauce.
5. 做个讨人喜欢的小朋友。 — Be a good boy.

View all 11 example sentences for 小朋友 →