How to say "childcare" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 保育ほいくnoun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers childcare in the sense of professional or institutional care of young children, especially infants and preschoolers; the natural word when talking about daycare, nursery care, or caregivers who do it for a living.
- 育児いくじnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbCovers childcare as an activity of parents: nursing and bringing up one's own children, the word for things like sharing childcare with a partner or taking childcare leave.
Use 保育 for the care of young children provided by a nursery, daycare centre, or professional caregiver, and 育児 for the raising of one's own children by their parents, as in sharing childcare at home.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
