幼児語
幼児語 (baby talk) compose phrases heavily used by parents and children alike, and just as there are such examples like “birdy” and “potty” in English, Japanese has its own array of baby talk expressions.
Onomatopoeic 幼児語
In Japanese, one major source of baby talk – especially for children around the age of one – is onomatopoeic expressions used in place of the typical noun which exhibits that sound in adult speech. As onomatopoeic expressions are adverbial in nature, these “baby talk” versions can on occasion manifest in verbal constructs, which still incidentally replace a more ‘correct,’ ‘adult’ version.
| Meaning | Baby Talk | Adult Word(s) |
| Dog | ワンワン ワンコ | 犬 |
| Cat | ニャンニャン ニャンちゃん | 猫 |
| Cow | モーモー | 牛 |
| Elephant | パオーン | 象 |
| Duck | ガーガー | アヒル |
| Frog | ケロケロ | 蛙 |
| Lion | ガオー | ライオン 獅子 |
| Sheep | メーメー | 羊 |
| Rabbit | ピョンピョン | ウサギ |
| Mouse; Small Bird | チュンチュン チュー（チュー） | ネズミ 小鳥 |
| Car Pig | ブーブー | 車 豚 |
| Bird | ポッポ | 鳥 |
| Crow | カーカー | 烏 |
| Bee | ブンブン | 蜂 |
| Chicken | コッコー | 鶏 |
| Pee | チッチ シーシー | おしっこ |
| To crawl on all fours | ワンワン（する） モーモー（する） | 四つん這いになる |
| Whistle | ピー | 笛 |
| Fart | プー | 屁 おなら |
| Puk(ing) | げっ ぺっ | げろを吐く |
| Fire truck | ピーポ（ピーポ） | 消防車 |
| To clap one’s hands | パチパチ（する） | 拍手する |
※It is worth noting that する would be affixed by the parent as part of the children’s acquisition of verbal morphology.
Sound Repetition
As children get older and begin to incorporate adult vocabulary, albeit in simpler forms, it is often the case that the first mora(e) of the adult word is repeated. It is also highly common for one baby talk word to correspond to multiple related adult words.
It is even possible to have adjectival words heard repeated to indicate a resulting action, indicating that adjectives are acquired subsequently after nouns but before verbs – ex. きれいきれい meaning “to wash.”
| Meaning | Baby Talk | Adult Word(s) |
| Food Mom Breasts | （お）まんま | ご飯 お母さん 乳房 |
| Eyes | おめめ めんめ | 目 |
| Teeth | はあは | 歯 |
| Nap Blankie1 | ねんね | 寝る 毛布 |
| Water Hot water Tea | おぶ（う）（ちゃん） ぶぶ | 水 お湯 お茶 |
| Grandfather | ジージー | お爺さん |
| Grandmother | バーバー | お婆さん |
| Older brother | 兄（にい）に | お兄さん |
| Older sister | 姉（ねえ）ね | お姉さん |
| Ambulance | キューキュー | 救急車 |
| Train | しゅっしゅ （きしゃ）ぽっぽ しゅっしゅぽっぽ | 汽車 |
| Dirty | ぺっぺ | 汚い |
| Scary | おじょじょ | 怖い |
| Hand | （お）手々・てって | 手 |
| Stomach | ぽんぽ（ん） | お腹 |
| Head/hair | かんかん | 頭 髪の毛 |
| To ride/go home | のんの | 乗る 帰る |
| To clean up | ないない | 片づける |
| To scratch | かいかい | 引っ掻く |
| To bite | かみかみ | 噛む |
| Bird/father/fish | と（っ）と | 鳥 お父さん 魚 |
| Fish | すいすい | 魚 |
| Poop | くさいくさい2 | 大便 |
| Food | うまうま3 | 食べ物 |
| Something important | だいじだいじ | 大切なもの |
| Clothes | べべ | 洋服 |
| Japanese sandals | じょんじょ ぞぞ | 草履 |
※The affixing of お～, ～ちゃん, and the like is indicative of the parent adding complexity into the utterance of the child in the “baby talk” phase.
※Some phrases such as 爺（じじい）and 婆（ばばあ）are maintained as variants into adult speech. Another example is 蝶々 (butterfly) in place of 蝶.
While onomatopoeic expressions are mixed in to this category, it would be erroneous to say that such expressions are necessarily exclusive to baby talk. For instance, while ぺろぺろ may be used in baby talk to mean “candy,” it is used in adult speech as the onomatopoeia for licking. Another example is よしよし, which in baby talk means “to pet,” but the onomatopoeia itself is still associated with petting in adult speech. Even ちんする for “to blow one’s nose” is another example of a baby talk phrase used colloquially into adulthood.
Use of Simpler Sounds
As a child gets older but has not quite mastered adult pronunciations, the substitution of “simpler” sounds over the “harder” adult sounds is observed. In English, examples of this include the substituting of “w” for “l” like in “wuv” for “love.”
| Meaning | Baby Talk | Adult Word | Simplification |
| Hot | あちち | 熱い | つ → ち |
| Friend | ともらち | 友達 | だ → ら |
| Bug | むいむい | 虫 | し → い |
| Zebra | しーまま | シマウマ | Deletion of ウ |
| Shoes | くっく | 靴 | つ → く |
| Butt | おちり | お尻 | し → ち |
| No good | め | ダメ | Deletion of だ |
| Clean | ちれい | きれい | き → ち |
| Thank you | あんと | ありがとう | りが → ん |
| Stinky | くちゃい | くさい | さ → ちゃ |
| Milk | みーく | ミルク | Deletion of る |
| Plate | おたら | お皿 | さ → た |
| Plane | こうき | 飛行機 | Deletion of ひ |
| I | わたち | わたし | ち → し |
Speech Directed At Infants
On the flip side, there are expressions used by parents/adults towards infants that are maintained in adult contexts for a colloquial, endearing effect. This is where affixing ～ちゃん, ～こ, etc. becomes fairly common.
| Phrase | Meaning |
| わんこ わんちゃん | Doggy |
| うんこ | (Dog) crap |
| 抱っこ | Carrying in one’s arms |
| おんぶ | Piggyback ride |
| 高い高い! | Lifting a child high up in the air |
In Conclusion
Every region as well as individual households may have their own spins on the expressions mentioned. Additionally, not all parents are in favor of their children using these words, preferring to enforce the correct, adult forms as much as possible. Others view these words as quintessential to prompting kids to talk, referring to them alternatively as 育児語. Whatever the motives or reasons may be for the use of these words, they are worthy of discussion and study to experience the native experience fully.