Key Difference: We all once were a kid and children before grownup an adult. Every human crosses these stages in life. Many people think that kid and child refer to the same meanings. But, In fact, there is a big difference between these two words in English. If you are ready to know about it, then follow this guide. Generally, a kid is a child or a young person, and a child is a kid below the age of puberty. Let’s see the differences between them with an explanation.
Kid: You are just a kid.
Child: They adopted a child.
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Kid:
A Child or a young person.
A kid is a child or a young person. It is an informal word for children. Let’s see an example to make it clear for you. My kid is turning 2 tomorrow. From this statement, we might understand that someone’s kid is turning 2 tomorrow. Here we come up with another example for your reference. You should keep an eye on the naughty kid. From this sentence, we might understand that someone says, watch the naughty kid.
How Do We Spell the Word Kid?
Phonetics pronunciation of the word Kid is kɪd. And this word sounds like the following audio.
Enunciation:
Syllabification refers to the process of division of words into smaller parts. It is commonly known as syllables. With its help, you can easily read and spell the word accurately. Here, you will see how to split the word “Kid” by syllables.
- The word “Kid” has only one syllable.
- It cannot be divided.
Using “Kid” in sentences:
- She treated him like a little kid.
- At that time, I was a kid.
- He is a happy kid.
- They have two kids.
- How many kids do you have?
Child:
A boy or girl between birth and puberty.
A child is a human between birth and puberty. We can also tell that child is a kid from three months to age twelve. Let’s see an example to make it clear for you. The child loves to play with a dog. From this statement, we might understand that children always love to play with dogs. Here we come up with another example to make it clear for you. When I was a child, I used to play the piano with my grandma. From this statement, we might understand that, someone used to play the piano when he or she was a kid.
How Do We Spell the Word Child?
Phonetics pronunciation of the word Child is tʃaɪld. And this word sounds like the following audio.
Enunciation:
Syllabification refers to the process of division of words into smaller parts. It is commonly known as syllables. With its help, you can easily read and spell the word accurately. Here, you will see how to split the word “Child” by syllables.
- The word “Child” has only one syllable.
- It cannot be divided.
Using “Child” in sentences:
- My father always treats me like a child.
- He is a very good child in this classroom.
- I swim well when I was a child.
- When I was a child, I played with my neighbors.
- This child looks exhausted!
Compare: Kid Vs Child
This table will show the contradiction between the words’ Kid and Child.
| Kid | Child | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It refers to a child or a young person. | It refers to any child from three months to age 12. |
| Synonyms | Infant, teenager, youth | Youngsters, youth, toddler |
| Antonyms | Senior, Woman, man | Adult, Parent |
| Etymology | Middle English (in kid1 (sense 2 of the noun)): from Old Norse kith, of Germanic origin; related to German Kitze. | Old English cild, of Germanic origin. The Middle English plural childer or childre became childeren or children by association with plurals ending in -en, such as brethren. |
| Examples | I want to play with the kids. Can you help look after the kids? Get the kid to the bed. The kid got hurt in knees. That kid kept crying for hours. | He doesn’t like being treated like a child. Every child stops crying when they see their mother’s face. This child looks handsome. Have you played with that child? She is the first girl child in the family. |
Resources and References:
Resources: Cambridge Dictionary (Kid, Child), Merriam-Webster (Kid, Child), Collins Dictionary (Kid, Child), Dictionary.com (Kid, Child)
Reference: Dictionary.Cambridge.org[1], Merriam-Webster.com[2], CollinsDictionary.com[3], Dictionary.com[4].