坊(ぼ)っちゃん

ぼっちゃん
noun
young boy (polite); son (someone else's); pampered boy
politeperson
1. young boy; son (of someone else, polite)
A polite term used to address or refer to someone else's young son or a young boy in general.
坊(ぼ)っちゃん、おいくつですか。
How old are you, young man?
お隣(となり)の坊(ぼ)っちゃんは今年(ことし)小学校(しょうがっこう)に入(はい)ったそうだ。
I hear the neighbor's boy started elementary school this year.
社長(しゃちょう)の坊(ぼ)っちゃんが入社(にゅうしゃ)してきたらしい。
Apparently, the company president's son has joined the firm.
2. pampered boy; sheltered young man; rich kid
A young man who has been raised in comfort and lacks worldly experience. Often implies naivety or being spoiled.
彼(かれ)は坊(ぼ)っちゃん育(そだ)ちで苦労(くろう)を知(し)らない。
He was raised as a pampered boy and doesn't know hardship.
いいところの坊(ぼ)っちゃんだから、庶民(しょみん)の暮(く)らしが分(わ)からないんだろう。
He's a rich kid from a good family, so he probably doesn't understand how ordinary people live.
坊(ぼ)っちゃん気質(かたぎ)で世間知(せけんし)らずだと言(い)われている。
He's said to have a sheltered temperament and be ignorant of the world.

坊(ぼ)っちゃん comes from 坊(ぼう) (boy, monk) with the diminutive/affectionate ちゃん suffix. The っ is a phonetic change.

Sense 1 is a polite, respectful term for someone else's son. Sense 2 often carries an ironic or critical tone, suggesting the person is naive or spoiled.

Common collocations

  • 坊(ぼ)っちゃん育(そだ)ち (raised as a pampered child)
  • 坊(ぼ)っちゃん気質(かたぎ) (sheltered temperament)
  • いいところの坊(ぼ)っちゃん (boy from a well-off family)

The word is also famous as the title of Natsume Soseki's novel 「坊(ぼ)っちゃん」(1906).

Similar words

Related Words

Compare: お嬢(じょう)さん (female equivalent)
general
Added 2026.3.12 11:31 · Revised 2026.9.4 21:29
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