I was wondering about this phrase here:
天真爛漫
What does it mean to describe someones personality? Is it only used for kids and if so what range? Can it be applied to adults and does it mean they are childish or not then?
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Weblio essentially defines it as “naive, but with a positive connotation”. “Childlike innocence” rather than “childlike ignorance”. You’d probably only apply it to adults - to use it on a child feels mildly redundant.
That said, most 四字熟語 are a bit too weighty to drop into casual conversation - they can often come across as fairly formal and academic.
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No, we’re not going to be able to tell you someone’s age just because 天真爛漫 was used. They could be under 18.
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I mean does it mean they are under 18 then?
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Childlike how? Does it mean immaturity?
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No, it means like a child. Child-like.
Yes, children are seen as immature, but they’re also seen as fresh, innocent, un-jaded. This is the latter.
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From the following article, we can definitively say that the lower bound is less than 1 year old in dog years:
大谷翔平の愛犬デコピンの天真爛漫、塩対応ぶりが脚光！ カメラ目線の”プロ意識”が話題沸騰
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So if you use it for an adult it doesn’t mean they are childish/immature yes? and is it normal to say for an adult?
Read what I’ve already posted, and draw your own conclusions.
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it would be more like in english: The old man stared out at the supernova with a child-like wonder, having never seen such an amazing and awe-inspiring event.
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