赤ちゃん

Japanese

Kanji in this term
赤
あか Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Etymology

Compound of 赤 (aka, “red”) +‎ ちゃん (-chan, familiarizing suffix).

Compare 赤ん坊 (akanbō) and 赤子 (akago), both of which also allude to the reddish complexion of a newborn. Compare also the similar formation of Malay anak merah (literally “child + red”).

First cited to a text from 1856 or 1857.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あ​かちゃん [áꜜkàchàǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ka̠t͡ɕã̠ɴ]

Noun

赤(あか)ちゃん • (aka-chan) 

1. [from 1856–57] a baby, an infant (human or animal)

   赤(あか)ちゃんと僕(ぼく)

   Aka-chan to Boku

   Baby & Me

   • 1984 February 20 [1983 June 15], Motoka Murakami, “気(き)になる新(しん)任(にん)先(せん)生(せい)の巻(まき) [A Little Worried about the New Teacher]”, in 六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)の剣(けん) (六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)の剣(けん)) [Musashi’s Sword], 4th edition, volume 10 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 147:

     先(せん)生(せい)　いたべ⁉

     Sensei itabe⁉

     Are they in there, Sensei!?

     おう！いたぞ。まっ白(しろ)いメス犬(いぬ)がお産(さん)のまっさいちゅうだ。２～３匹(びき)うまれてるが、まだあと３匹(びき)ぐらいはうまれるな。

     Ō! Ita zo. Masshiroi mesuinu ga o-san no massaichū da. Ni~sanbiki umareteru ga, mada ato sanbiki gurai wa umareru na.

     Yeah! There’s a white dog giving birth in there. 2 or 3 pups have come out but there’s probably 3 more to come.

     白(しろ)いメス犬(いぬ)⁉ひょっとすると…⁉ほら六(ム)三(サ)四(シ)、前(まえ)に十(と)一(いち)さよく白(しろ)いノラ犬(いぬ)といっしょにあそんでいたでしょう。

     Shiroi mesuinu⁉ Hyotto suru to…⁉ Hora Musashi, mae ni Toichi sa yoku shiroi norainu to issho ni asonde ita deshō.

     A white dog!? Could it be…!? Hey Musashi, you remember Toichi used to go stay with a white stray dog a while back?

     うん‼

     Un‼

     Yeah‼

     きっと十(と)一(いち)の子(こ)よ‼十(と)一(いち)とあの白(しろ)い犬(いぬ)との赤(あか)ちゃんよ！

     Kitto Toichi no ko yo‼ Toichi to ano shiroi inu to no aka-chan yo!

     These must be Toichi’s puppies!! They’re Toichi and that white dog’s babies!

   • 1986 July 5 [1985 October 18], Makoto Kobayashi, “Ｖｏｌ.26　マイケルの初夜 [Vol.26 Michael’s First Night]”, in What’s(ホワッツ) Michael(マイケル)? (What’s(ホワッツ) Michael(マイケル)?) [What’s Michael], 10th edition, volume 2 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN, page 30:

     このバカモノ‼ポッポはまだ赤(あか)ちゃんなんだぞ〰〰‼

     Kono bakamono‼ Poppo wa mada aka-chan na n da zo~~‼

     You moron!! Poppo’s still an infant!!