青少年|せいしょうねんseishounen[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nounyoung people; youth; the younger generation
   私には青少年せいしょうねんの心理しんりがわからない。↗

   I can not understand the psychology of adolescents.

• Synonym若者わかものNeutralThe everyday, most common word for young people; 「青少年」 leans toward policy and legal usage and often refers to minors.
• Synonym青年せいねんNeutralYoung people around the age of adulthood, from the teens into the twenties or thirties; 「青少年」 is an umbrella term spanning minors and young adults.
• Synonym若い者わかいものNeutralYoung people, often with the tone of an elder speaking of them, as in 「近頃の若い者は」.
• Synonym若人わこうどWrittenWritten, literary word for young people, with a fresh, vigorous flavor; not for everyday talk.
• SynonymユースNeutralLoanword for youth, used mostly for youth teams in sports.
• SynonymティーンエイジャーNeutralLoanword for teenagers, people in their teens; common in fashion and magazines.
• SynonymヤングNeutralLoanword for young people, carrying a distinct Showa-era flavor.
• Synonym若衆わかしゅWrittenYoung people; historically also boys before their coming-of-age ceremony in the Edo period. Rare today, with an archaic flavor.
• Synonym若い衆わかいしゅCasualColloquial for young men or shop hands, with a rough underworld or festival flavor.
• SynonymティーンNeutralShort loanword for people in their teens; common in fashion and magazines.
• Related若年じゃくねんWrittenWritten word for being young or of young age, as in 「若年層」; leans statistical usage.
• Related年若としわかWrittenWritten word for being young in age, as in 「年若い」; describes youthfulness rather than naming young people.
• Related青二才あおにさいCasualColloquial and contemptuous: a green, immature youngster.
• Antonym老年ろうねんNeutralOld age, the opposite end of the life span from 「青少年」.

Use 「青少年」 for young people in policy or legal contexts, covering minors and young adults, as in 「青少年保護」. In everyday speech say 「若者」; for those around adulthood, 「青年」; for teens, 「ティーン」 or 「ティーンエイジャー」. 「老年」 is the antonym for old age; the rest are specialized or stylistic variants.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 青年せいねん及および少年しょうねん。