兒

Pictograph: depicts a child with soft milk teeth and the fontanelle (unfused spot on the skull) still visible, emphasizing infancy.

In oracle-bone and bronze script, drawn as a small figure with a large head → symbolizing the physical traits of a young child.

Semantic range:

- child, infant, offspring;

- by extension: “young, immature”;

- suffix in Classical Chinese to form diminutives or nouns (e.g., 童兒 “child,” 小兒 “little one”);

- component in many compounds relating to children, filial relationships, or diminutives.

嬰兒 (영아) — infant, baby

兒童 (아동) — child, children

兒女 (아녀) — sons and daughters, children

小兒 (소아) — little child

孤兒 (고아) — orphan

In Classical Chinese, 兒 frequently served as a diminutive suffix, often attached to nouns to give an affectionate or familiar sense (similar to “-er” in northern Mandarin today, e.g. 花兒 huār “flower”).

In Confucian texts, words like 兒子 appear in discussions of filial piety, emphasizing the relationship between child and parent.

In modern Mandarin, the retroflex suffix -r (儿化音, erhua) derives from this character.