1.
stepchild
A child of one's spouse from a previous marriage or relationship. Not one's biological child.
継子を育てる。
To raise a stepchild.
彼女は継子を自分の子のように大切にしている。
She cherishes her stepchild as if it were her own.
継子との関係に悩む親は少なくない。
There are quite a few parents who struggle with their relationship with their stepchildren.
2.
something treated unfairly or neglected
Figuratively, something that receives less favorable treatment compared to others, as in the expression 継子扱い (treated like a stepchild).
継子扱いされる。
To be treated like a stepchild.
あの部署は社内で継子扱いされている。
That department is treated like a stepchild within the company.
地方の交通インフラは長年継子扱いされてきた。
Rural transportation infrastructure has been neglected for years.
An old native Japanese word. まま means 'step-' (as in step-parent) and 子 means child. The prefix まま also appears in 継父 (stepfather) and 継母 (stepmother).
ETYMOLOGY:
The prefix まま is of ancient origin and is thought to derive from a word meaning 'not real' or 'substitute.' It predates Chinese-derived words for step-relations.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 継子扱い: being treated unfairly, like a stepchild
- 継子いじめ: bullying of a stepchild
- 継子を育てる: to raise a stepchild
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 連れ子: a child from a previous relationship — neutral, commonly used in modern contexts
- 養子: adopted child — a child formally adopted, not necessarily a stepchild
- 実子: biological child — one's own child by birth
NOTE:
In modern usage, 連れ子 is more commonly used than 継子 to refer to stepchildren without negative connotation. 継子 can carry undertones of the old fairy-tale motif of the mistreated stepchild, making it somewhat loaded.