兒
child; son; non-syllabic diminutive suffix; retroflex final
Closest English meanings
child·son·(traditional form of 儿)
The Calligrapher — Chǔ Suíliáng 褚遂良
Tang chancellor and regular-script master of elegant, balanced strokes.
Tang calligrapher (596–658), master of regular script — Tang master of graceful, tensile regular script favored by the imperial court. Tang dynasty
Cultural Story
The form shows a child with a soft, unclosed skull fontanelle at the top — 兒, the small bare head. Mencius spoke of 赤子之心的, the heart of an infant. In the family chronicles, 兒女 meant sons and daughters owed duty to the household. A foundling left at a temple gate was recorded simply as 嬰兒, a nursling.
Common words & phrases
- 兒童 children · child
- 兒子 son
- 嬰兒 infant · baby
- 兒女 children · sons and daughters
- 兒科 pediatrics
Read the story behind the character
A 兒科 clinic fills with coughing children at dusk; 兒童 queue for the slide in the park. A grandmother calls her 兒子 on video chat, holding the baby so he can see. 嬰兒 formula sits on the supermarket shelf beside powdered milk, and a new parent reads the label twice.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Chǔ Suíliáng 褚遂良, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.