baby

Compared meaning: a very young child (noun).

比较义项：婴儿，未满一岁的小孩（名词）。

• baby 本词

  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

  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。

Compared meaning: to be too kind or indulgent toward someone (verb).

比较义项：过分纵容、娇惯（某人）（动词）。

• baby 本词

  Refers to treating someone, often an adult, like a young child by giving overly gentle care; implies they don't need it and often appears in objections like "don't baby me."

  指把某人（通常是成年人）当作小孩子一样对待，给予过度温柔的照顾；暗示对方并不需要这种照顾，常出现在“别把我当孩子哄”这类反驳的话里。

  Grandpa still babies my little brother, even though he's already a teenager.

  尽管弟弟已经是十几岁的少年了，爷爷还是像哄小孩一样宠着他。

• spoil

  Most often used for indulging a child or pet by giving them whatever they want too easily; strongly implies a bad result — the child becomes spoiled, meaning badly behaved.

  最常用于纵容孩子或宠物，事事顺着他们、给得太容易；强烈暗示不好的结果——孩子因此被宠坏，也就是变得任性、难管教。

  They spoil their dog by giving it treats every time it barks.

  他们只要狗一叫就给它零食吃，这样溺爱它。

• pamper

  Means giving someone luxurious, comfortable treatment that caters to their wishes, often for self-care or spa-like indulgence; the tone is positive or neutral, without any sense of bad behavior.

  指给予某人奢侈、周到的照顾，满足他们的愿望，常用于自我犒劳或美容护理般的享受；语气是正面或中性的，不含“行为变坏”的意味。

  She pampers herself with a bubble bath every Friday evening.

  她每周五晚上都会用泡泡浴好好纵容自己一次。

Baby, spoil and pamper can all mean being indulgent toward someone, but they differ. Baby means treating an adult like a child, as in don't baby me. Spoil means indulging a child too easily, so the child becomes badly behaved. Pamper means giving luxurious care.

这三个词都能表示“过分纵容、娇惯某人”，但语气和对象不同：baby强调把人（常是成年人）当婴儿一样呵护，带调侃或不满语气；spoil最常用于纵容孩子或宠物，暗示会带来负面后果；pamper强调给予奢侈周到的照顾，多用于自我犒劳，语气偏正面。这里不比较spoil“损坏、变质”的义项。