小时候

xiǎo shí hou

HSK 3.0 Level 2 Noun Common

Definitions

1. in one's childhood

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 成人 chéng rén 成人 chéng rén adult As 'adulthood', opposite of childhood.: adult

Related words

1 item

• 少年 shào nián 少年 shào nián early youth Refers to early youth/teenage years, often distinct from childhood.: early youth

Synonyms

1 item

• 童年 tóng nián 童年 tóng nián childhood As a noun meaning 'childhood', but more formal/literary; 小时候 is common in spoken contexts.: childhood

Usage notes

Common mistakes

小时候 is an adverb-like noun meaning 'as a child', not a time duration; to say 'for a long time in childhood', use 在小时候 + duration, not *小时候很长时间.

Formality

小时候 is informal and conversational; in formal writing, prefer 童年 or 幼时.

Example Sentences

4 shown

他 小时候 学过摔跤。

He learned wrestling when he was young.

我 小时候 住在北京的一条胡同里。

When I was a child, I lived in a hutong in Beijing.

我 小时候 在农村长大。

I grew up in a rural area when I was young.

我很怀念 小时候 的时光。

I really cherish the memories of my childhood.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 小时候

• 小 小 xiǎo: small
• 小时 小时 xiǎo shí: hour
• 时 时 shí: o'clock
• 时候 时候 shí hou: time
• 候 候 hòu: to wait