When saying "was not a child" should I say 子供じゃなかった or 子じゃなかった?


If the kanji for child is 子 why is 子供 also child? In which cases would I say
one vs the other?




子供 means kids or children in general.

子, apart from kid or child, can also mean "son" or "daughter". So if you
say「子じゃなかった」sometimes it means he/she isn't my/your... son/daugther.

In the case of your question, you should say 「子供じゃなかった」. That means "he/she
was not a child".




子供 means kids or children in general.

子, apart from kid or child, can also mean "son" or "daughter". So if you
say「子じゃなかった」sometimes it means he/she isn't my/your... son/daugther.

In the case of your question, you should say 「子供じゃなかった」. That means "he/she
was not a child".

