A joey is a baby kangaroo. It lives in its mother's pouch for a long time after it is born, tiny at first, and drinks milk there until it is strong enough to hop about outside.

A joeyA joey（小袋鼠） is a baby kangaroo是袋鼠寶寶。It lives in its mother's pouch for a long time after it is born牠出生後會在媽媽的育兒袋裡待很長一段時間, tiny at first一開始非常小, and drinks milk there until it is strong enough to hop about outside在裡面喝奶，直到強壯到可以到外面蹦跳為止。

Australians also use joey for the young of some other pouch animals, such as a possum — and that young-possum meaning is actually written down earlier than the young-kangaroo one. It is an informal, everyday Australian word, not a stiff science word.

Australians also use joey for the young of some other pouch animals, such as a possum澳洲人也把joey用在其他有袋動物的幼崽上，像是possum（負鼠）— and that young-possum meaning is actually written down earlier than the young-kangaroo one而這個指小負鼠的意思，其實比指小袋鼠的意思更早被記錄下來。It is an informal, everyday Australian word這是一個非正式、日常的澳洲用字, not a stiff science word不是生硬的科學用語。

Where the word itself comes from, nobody can say for sure. Older books often claimed it came from an Australian Aboriginal language (they wrote it as joè), but newer work on Australian English and Aboriginal languages says the origin is unknown. So I will not pretend we know.

Where the word itself comes from這個字本身從哪裡來, nobody can say for sure沒有人能說得準。Older books often claimed it came from an Australian Aboriginal language (they wrote it as joè)較舊的書常說它來自澳洲原住民語言（拼作joè）, but newer work on Australian English and Aboriginal languages says the origin is unknown但關於澳洲英語和原住民語言的較新研究說，來源其實不明。So I will not pretend we know所以我不會假裝我們知道答案。

Do not mix this up with Joey as a nickname for a boy named Joseph; that is a different use of the same spelling.

Do not mix this up with Joey as a nickname for a boy named Joseph不要把這個字跟Joey搞混——Joey也是給叫Joseph的男生取的暱稱; that is a different use of the same spelling那是同樣拼法的另一種用法。