babe

Compared meaning: a very young child (noun).

比较义项：婴儿，未满一岁的小孩（名词）。

• baby

  Baby is the ordinary, everyday word for a very young child, used in casual speech, parenting contexts, and terms of affection; it carries no formal or literary tone.

  baby 是指婴儿最普通、最日常的说法，用于口语、育儿话题和表达喜爱之情的场合；不带正式或文学色彩。

  The baby cried all night, so her parents took turns walking the floor.

  这个婴儿哭了一整夜，父母轮流抱着她在屋里走来走去。

• infant

  Infant is a formal or technical term for a very young child, typically found in medical, legal, or statistical writing (e.g. infant mortality); rarely used in casual speech.

  infant 是较为正式或专业的说法，多见于医学、法律或统计类文章（如 infant mortality“婴儿死亡率”），日常口语中较少使用。

  Infant mortality rates have dropped sharply in countries with better prenatal healthcare.

  在产前医疗条件较好的国家，婴儿死亡率已大幅下降。

• babe 本词

  Babe is a literary, old-fashioned, or poetic word for a baby, mostly found in stories, hymns, or biblical language; it sounds archaic in ordinary modern conversation.

  babe 是文学性、旧式或诗意的说法，多出现在故事、圣歌或圣经语言中；在现代日常对话中显得古雅。

  In the old carol, the babe lay sleeping in a manger of straw.

  在这首古老的颂歌中，那婴孩躺在铺满稻草的马槽里安睡。

Baby, infant, and babe all mean a very young child. Baby is the common, everyday word. Infant is formal, used in medical, legal, or statistical writing. Babe is literary or old-fashioned, rare in normal speech. Other senses of babe and baby are not compared here.

这三个词都指婴儿，但语体和使用场合不同：baby 是最常用的日常用词，infant 更正式，常见于医学、法律或统计语境，babe 带有文学或古雅色彩，日常口语中很少使用。此处不比较 babe 用作“性感女子”的俚语义，也不比较 baby 用作昵称或“不成熟的人”的引申义。