If you want to learn how to say student in Japanese, then you’re in the right place. There are quite a few different ways to say it, depending on what level of education the person you are talking about is at.
There’s also a little bit of a difference when you want to talk about a pupil of someone, rather than when the word is just generally referring to someone who is enrolled in some sort of public (or private) educational system.
Let’s check out each word individually and then put them in some useful phrases to see how they’re used.
Japanese Words For Students in the Educational System
First let’s start at the youngest age and the work up from there.
To talk about someone who is either in preschool or kindergarten you use the word 幼稚園児 (yōchien-ji) which is a combination of the word 幼稚園 (yōchien) for kindergarten, and the word 児 (ji) which is used for a newborn babe.
- The kindergartner began to cry.
幼稚園児が泣き始めた。
yōchien-ji ga naki hajimeta.
Then we move on to grade school (elementary) students which are called 小学生 (shōgakusei) which is a combination of the word for small 小 (shō) and the generic word for student which is 学生 (gakusei). We’ll go more into depth on just the word 学生 in a minute, but for now let’s continue.
- When I was in grade school I lived in Mexico.
小学生の頃メキシコに住んでいました。
shōgakusei no koro mekishiko ni sunde imashita.
In middle school (Jr. High) you get called a 中学生 (chūgakusei) which is a combination of the words for middle 中 (chū) and that generic word for student again, which you now know is 学生 (gakusei).
- My daughter is not a junior high school student yet.
娘はまだ中学生ではありません。
musume wa mada chūgakusei de wa arimasen.
Are you starting to see a pattern with the words for each level of student? Well if you are, then you can throw it out the window because the Japanese pulled a fast one on us!
The word for high school (Sr. High) student is 高校生 (kōkōsei). Yeah, it still ends with 生 (sei), but it lost the first half of the common word for student! I know, I know… just when you think you’re making progress…
- Next year, I’ll be a high school student!
来年、高校生になろう!
rainen, kōkōsei ni narou!
And finally we get to university students, which of course returns to the pattern you thought you could rely on earlier for these sorts of things: 大学生 (daigakusei) it’s nice to see that it combines the word big 大 (dai) with our favorite word for student 学生 (gakusei). Three out of four ain’t bad!
- That college student wasn’t honest!
あの大学生は正直ではなかったよ！
ano daigakusei wa shōjikide wa nakatta yo!
Two Generic Words for Students You Will Probably Hear
The most common word that I hear used for student in Japanese, as just a generic term, is the one that gets combined with most of the above words we went over earlier: 学生 (gakusei).
- Are you a student?
学生ですか？
gakusei desu ka?
According to Jisho.org, this word does indeed mean student in the general sense, but it is especially true when it’s used for university students.
Did you really think it was going to be that easy? Hah!
This then begs the question, what does 生徒 (seito) mean? I ask because 生徒 (seito) is another fairly common word in Japanese that’s used when talking about those kids in class.
If you look around the internet, it gets translated as both student and/or pupil depending on who you ask, but the most concise answer I ever received on it was from Kamiya’s book on Japanese sentences which states that 生徒 (seito) is primarily used when talking about middle school and high school students.
- Please tell the students not to touch this clock.
生徒達にこの時計を触らないように言ってください。
seito-tachi ni kono tokei o sawaranai yō ni itte kudasai.
Technically speaking, Japanese doesn’t distinguish between singular and plural. The word 生徒 (seito) could mean either one student or several.
But there is a word that explicitly makes the noun it’s attached to plural. It is the word 達 (tachi) which is also commonly spelled in just hiragana as たち. The rule is that it can only be used with people, though.
So 生徒達 (seito tachi) is students, plural.
Anyway, feel free to make those distinctions in your mind when you hear people called 学生 (gakusei) or 生徒 (seito) in schools.
Other Types of Students You Might Encounter
Of course everybody gets excited in anime and manga when the transfer student arrives! But how would you say transfer student in Japanese? It is 転校生 (tenkōsei) which starts off with the kanji 転 which can mean revolve or change.
- A teacher speaking to his class:
“I will introduce the transfer student.”
転校生を紹介をするぞ。
tenkōsei o shōkai suru zo.
And sometimes you get a student who is from overseas in your class. From Japan’s perspective, every county is “overseas” so this word could pretty much be used to mean a student from any other country (i.e. an exchange student) when it’s used by the Japanese people.
The word is 留学生 (ryūgakusei). There’s that lovely WORD + 学生 pattern again! And you thought you were going to get away from that, did you?
- There are two international students.
留学生は二人います。
ryūgakusei wa futari imasu.
Finally, let’s not forget about the new kids. I’m talking about those freshmen! The Japanese word 新入生 (shin nyūsei) is used when talking about new students who are entering a school as first-years.
- A new student came into the class.
新入生が教室へ入ってきた。
shin nyūsei ga kyōshitsu e haitte kita.
-Tatoeba
You’ll see this 新入 (shin nyū) kanji combination in other areas of the language when people are entering into some sort of organization (like a new job), so keep that meaning in mind.
This Final Word Can Mean Student or Pupil
Sometimes you are a student of someone else, like your martial arts instructor – Master Roshi.
Or it could even be as simple as saying “Professor Tanaka helped his student after class with the lesson.”
In these cases you might see the word 教え子 (oshiego) used for the student or pupil. It is created from the kanji for teach 教 and the kanji for kid 子 and it really shows this instructor-instructee relationship between the two (or more) people.
- I saw one of my students in Shinjuku on Tuesday.
火曜日に新宿で教え子を見ました。
kayōbi ni shinjuku de oshiego o mimashita.
And Now the Student Has Become the Master!!!
What can I say? There are a crap load of Japanese words when talking about students!
Some of them are pretty easy to remember since they are so commonly used. The others might only pop up every now and again.
Either way, let me know what you think by leave a comment below! I’d love to hear from you!
For reference, a list Japanese school years, grades, and the ages characters attend school in anime. Including terms like shougakkou ichinen 小学校一年,.chuugakkou sannen 中学校三年, koukou ichinen 高校一年 and so on.
- Chart
- Basic Vocabulary
- Hoikuen 保育園
- Hoikusho 保育所
- Youchien 幼稚園
- Shougakkou 小学校
- Chuugakkou 中学校
- Koukou 高校
- Daigaku 大学
- Other Courses
Chart
Basic Vocabulary
To begin with, the Japanese school system, much like the rest of the world, works by grades which are associated to years.
- gakunen 学年
School year. - atarashii gakunen ga hajimaru 新しい学年が始まる
A new school year begins. - sorosoro kono gakunen ga owaru そろそろこの学年が終わる
Soon this school year ends.
These years can be counted with Japanese numbers plus nen 年, the word for counting years in Japanese, like this, see:
- ichinen 一年 (or 1年)
One year. First year. - ninen 二年 (or 2年)
Two years. Second year.
Not that the numbers can be written with kanji (一二三四五) or Arabic digits (１２３４５).
You can create words for students of a given year by adding the suffix sei 生 to the year words. For example: ichinen-sei 一年生 is an ichinen student, a «first year student.» Also works for ninensei, sannensei, etc.
Other important words:
- gumi 組み
Class. A class of students.
(A-gumi A組み, «class A,» 1-gumi １組, «class 1,» etc.) - sotsugyou suru 卒業する
To graduate. - ryuunen suru 留年する
To repeat a year. (literally «detain year»)
Some other posts you might want to see later:
- Types of Schools (gakuen, private, public, coed, single-sex)
- Ages in Japanese: How to Say Years Old in Japanese
- Words for Student in Japanese (ichinensei, koukousei, joshikousei, etc.)
Hoikuen 保育園
The hoikuen 保育園 isn’t really a «school» but a place that takes care of babies and children under 6 years old for their parents.
In Japanese, the word hoikuen means «nursing,» hoiku 保育, «garden,» en 園. A nursing garden. A nursery, or nursing school.
There are many reasons for children to be placed in a hoikuen: both parents work, no babysitter, the stay-at-home parent was hospitalized, etc.
At three years old a child can go to an optional preschool, and at six years old they have to go to grade school, so normally a hoikuen doesn’t have children under 6.
As one would expect, hoikuen are kind of rare in anime.
Manga: Usagi Drop うさぎドロップ (Chapter 2)
- Context: a guy is buying clothes for his aunt, who’s a 6 year old girl, when he questions why she’s not picking skirts.
- hoikuen dewa sukaato dame dakara
ほいくえんではスカートはだめだから
Because in the nursery school, [you can’t wear] skirts. - hoikuen ほいくえん
Written with hiragana instead of kanji because children can’t speak kanji. - dame だめ
Not good. Not allowed. Forbidden. Etc.
(skirts are not good, i.e. you can’t wear skirts.) - soo na no?
そーなの？
[Is that so?] - soo そー
Same thing as sou そう.
Hoikusho 保育所
The term hoikusho 保育所, literally «nursing place,» is synonymous with hoikuen 保育園. The only difference is that hoikusho is the official name found in laws, etc., while hoikuen is the popular name, frequently added to the names of such nursing schools.
Youchien 幼稚園
The youchien 幼稚園 is a school for children ages ranging from 3 years old to 5 years old.
In Japanese, the word youchien means «infancy,» youchi 幼稚, «garden,» en 園. Infancy garden. A garden for infants. A kindergarten.
Note, however, that in the Unites States the term kindergarten refers to the first year of elementary school (which would be the last year of a youchien). The first two years of youchien would be equivalent to preschool or pre-kindergarten in the US.
School Years
youchien nenshou 幼稚園年少
Junior year of kindergarten.
(nenshou means «youth,» literally «age little.»)
Ages 3 to 4. Preschool, pre-kindergarten in the US.
youchien nenchuu 幼稚園年中
Middle year of kindergarten.
(nenchuu is literally «age middle.»)
Ages 4 to 5. Preschool, pre-kindergarten in the US.
youchien nenchou 幼稚園年長
Senior year of kindergarten.
(nenchou means «senior,» literally «age long.»)
Ages 5 to 6. Kindergarten in the US.
Shougakkou 小学校
The shougakkou 小学校 in Japan would be equivalent to an «elementary school,» «primary school,» or «grade school» in the United States from first grade and up.
A student of a shougakkou is a shougakusei 小学生.
In Japanese, the word shougakkou means «small,» shou 小, «school,» gakkou 学校. Small school.
Shougaku 小学
Sometimes, shougakkou is abbreviated to shougaku 小学.
School Years
shougakkou ichinen 小学校一年 (or 小学校１年)
shougau ichinen 小学一年 (or 小学１年)
Elementary school first year.
Ages 6 to 7. Same as first grade in the USA.
shougakkou ninen 小学校二年 (or 小学校２年)
shougaku ninen 小学二年 (or 小学２年)
Elementary school second year.
Ages 7 to 8. Same as second grade in the USA.
shougakkou sannen 小学校三年 (or 小学校３年)
shougaku sannen 小学三年 (or 小学３年)
Elementary school third year.
Ages 8 to 9. Same as third grade in the USA.
shougakkou yonnen 小学校四年 (or 小学校４年)
shougaku yonnen 小学四年 (or 小学４年)
Elementary school fourth year.
Ages 9 to 10. Same as fourth grade in the USA.
shougakkou gonen 小学校五年 (or 小学校５年)
shougaku gonen 小学五年 (or 小学５年)
Elementary school fifth year.
Ages 10 to 11. Same as fifth grade in the USA.
shougakkou rokunen 小学校六年 (or 小学校６年)
shougaku rokunen 小学六年 (or 小学６年)
Elementary school sixth year.
Ages 11 to 12. Same as sixth grade in the USA.
Chuugakkou 中学校
The chuugakkou 中学校 in Japan has no real equivalent in the United States school system.
This is because it starts at the same time as «middle school,» however, in the US «middle school» is sometimes called «junior high school» instead. Most notably, the last year of chuugakkou is equivalent to the freshman year (first year) of high school in the US.
A student of a chuugakkou is a chuugakusei 中学生.
The word chuugakkou means «middle,» chuu 中, «school,» gakkou 学校. Middle school.
Chuugaku 中学
Sometimes, chuugakkou is abbreviated to chuugaku 中学.
School Years
chuugakkou ichinen 中学校一年 (or 中学校１年)
chuugaku ichinen 中学一年 (or 中学１年)
Middle school first year.
Ages 12 to 13. Same as seventh grade in the USA; first year of middle school or junior high.
chuugakkou ninen 中学校二年 (or 中学校２年)
chuugaku ninen 中学二年 (or 中学２年)
Middle school second year.
Ages 13 to 14. Same the eighth grade in the USA; second year of middle school or junior high.
chuugakkou sannen 中学校三年 (or 中学校３年)
chuugaku sannen 中学三年 (or 中学３年)
Middle school third year.
Ages 14 to 15. Same as the ninth grade in the USA; high school freshman or first year.
Koukou 高校
The koukou 高校 in Japan is equivalent to the last three years of high school in the United States.
A student of a koukou is a koukousei 高校生.
Koutou Gakkou 高等学校
You may have noticed that, unlike shougakkou and chuugakkou, the word koukou has no gakkou in it. This is because the word koukou is an abbreviation of koutou gakkou 高等学校. Despite being an abbreviation, koukou is used with more frequency than koutou gakkou in anime.
The word koutou gakkou means «high grade,» koutou 高等, «school,» gakkou 学校. High-grade school. High school.
School Years
koukou ichinen 高校一年 (or 高校１年)
koutou gakkou ichinen 高等学校一年 (or 高等学校１年)
High school first year.
Ages 15 to 16. Same as tenth grade in the USA; high school sophomore or second year.
koukou ninen 高校二年 (or 高校２年)
koutou gakkou ninen 高等学校二年 (or 高等学校２年)
Middle school second year.
Ages 16 to 17. Same the eleventh grade in the USA; high school junior or third year..
koukou sannen 高校三年 (or 高校３年)
koutou gakkou sannen 高等学校三年 (or 高等学校３年)
Middle school third year.
Ages 17 to 18. Same as the twelfth grade in the USA; high school senior or fourth year.
Daigaku 大学
A daigaku 大学 in Japan is any post-secondary school, this includes universities, colleges, etc.
A student of a daigaku is a daigakusei 大学生.
The word daigaku means «large» or «big,» dai 大, «education,» gaku 学. Large education.
daigakkou 大学校
One would think that since shougaku and chuugaku are abbreviations of shougakkou and chuugakkou, daigaku ought to be an abbreviation of daigakkou, right?
Wrong.
The word daigaku is not an abbreviation of daigakkou. The word daigaku as-is is the word the education officials of Japan chose for post-secondary education. And, yes, the naming is a mess. Nobody is saying it makes sense. I just want to note if a school calls itself a daigakkou, «big school,» they aren’t necessarily an actual daigaku, «college.» These words are not the same thing.
School Years
daigaku ichinen 大学一年 (大学１年)
College first year. University first year.
Ages 18 and 19.
daigaku ninen 大学二年 (大学２年)
College first year. University first year.
Ages 19 and 20.
daigaku sannen 大学三年 (大学３年)
College first year. University first year.
Ages 20 and 21.
daigaku yonnen 大学四年 (大学４年)
College first year. University first year.
Ages 21 and 22.
Other Courses
Besides the schools above there are other types of schools that should be taken note of.
Koutou Senmon Gakkou 高等専門学校
A koutou senmon gakkou is a mix of high-school and college. A technical college.
While the normal koutou gakkou (koukou) has three school years, a koutou senmon gakkou has five school years. You’d start it at 15 or 16 years old (just like in a koukou), but finish it 19 or 20 years old.
The words koutou senmon gakkou mean «high-grade,» koutou 高等, «specialty,» 専門, «school,» gakkou 学校. A high school to create specialists, technicians.
Tanki Daigaku 短期大学
A tanki daigaku is a college with fewer years than normal. It’s equivalent to «junior college» in the united states.
While the average daigaku course takes four years to complete, a tanki daigaku takes only two or three years.
The words tanki daigaku mean «short,» tan 短, «term,» ki 期, «university,» daigaku 大学. A short term college or university.
Ika Daigaku 医科大学
An ika daigaku is a «medical college.»
As one would expected, a course in medicine is harder than your average course, and take longer to complete. Because of that, an ika daigaku usually takes six years to graduate from, compared to the four years of the average college. The graduate would have at least 23 or 24 years old.
The words ika daigaku mean «medical science,» ika 医科, «school,» gakkou 大学. Medical science school. Medicine school.
This is a list of Japanese words related to school and educational institutions.
I’ve always enjoyed school and If you are staring to use these terms either for yourself, or for a loved one, I wish you the best luck! While I haven’t attended a school in Japan personally, I hear that they are much more difficult than American schools on average, especially for earlier grades.
- 学校 (gakkou): school
- 幼稚園 (youchien): kindergarten (also キンダー)
- 小学校 (shougakkou): elementary school
- 中学校 (chuugakkou): middle school
- 高校 (koukou): high school
- 大学 (daigaku): college or university
- 専門学校 (senmon gakkou): vocational or technical school
- 予備校 (yobikou): preparatory school (also 塾 ‘juku’)
- 授業 (jugyou): class
- 学生 (gakusei): student
- クラスメート (kurasumeeto): classmate
- 校内 (kounai): campus, school grounds
- 教室 (kyoushitsu): classroom
- 廊下 (rouka): hallway
- 先生 (sensei): teacher
- 担当 (tantou): person in charge (ex: 担当の先生: teacher in charge)
- 教職員 (kyoushokuin): faculty or staff of a school (also 教員)
- 校長先生 (kouchou sensei): principle
- 教頭先生 (kyoutou sensei): vice principle
- 休園 (kyuuen): (kindergarten) closed
- 休校 (kyuukou): school closed
- 〜年生 (~nensei): student at a certain grade in school [ex: 二年生 (ninensei): second grade student]
- 学年 (gakunen): grade in school (referring to 一年生、二年生, etc.)
- 代講 (daikou): substitute teacher
- アシスタント (ashisutanto): assistant (teacher)
- (に) 落ちる (ochiru): to fail (a test, etc)
- (に) 受かる (ukaru): to pass (a test, etc)
- (を) 受ける (ukeru): to take (a test, etc.)
- 合格 (goukaku): pass (a test, etc.)
- 不合格 (fugoukaku): fail (a test, etc.)
- 卒業する (sotsugyou suru): to graduate
- 卒業生 (sotsugyousei): graduate, alumnus
- 卒業アルバム (sotsuyou arubamu): yearbook
- 試験 (shiken): test (also テスト)
- 学期 (gakki): school term or semester
- 中間 (chuukan): mid-term (ex: 中間テスト)
- 期末 (kimatsu): end of term (ex: 期末テスト)
- 見学する (kengaku suru): to observe (a class, etc.)
- 飛び級する (tobikyuu suru): to skip a grade
- 教科書 (kyoukasho): text book
- 机 (tsukue): desk
- 黒板 (kokuban): blackboard
- 鉛筆 (enpitsu): pencil
- 実習 (jisshuu): ‘real’ practice (actually doing something)
- 自習 (jishuu): self-study (time given by teachers for students to study on their own, like before a test)
- お休み (oyasumi): a day off or holiday (for work or school)
- 休日(kyuujitsu): holiday (New Years, etc.)
- 下駄箱 (getabako): shoe cupboard / rack
- 単位 (tan’i): (college) credit
- 科目 (kamoku): subject / course
- 必修科目 (hisshuu kamoku): required course
- 退学する (taigaku suru): leaving / getting kicked out of school
- 入学する (nyuugaku suru): entering school
- 給食 (kyuushoku): school lunch
- 理系 (rikei): science track, or a student in such a program
- 文系 (bunkei): humanities track, or a student in such a program
- クラブ (kurabu): a club (tennis, etc.)
- 部活 (bukatsu): participation in a club (short for クラブ活動)
- 稽古 (keiko): practice session for a club, like Karate (also お稽古)
- 教育 (kyouiku): education
- 教育制度 (kyouiku seido): educational system (also 教育システム)
- 教育委員会 (kyouiku iinkai): board of education
- 補習校 (hoshuukou): supplementary school (often weekends only)
- 勉強する (benkyou suru): to study
- 学ぶ (manabu): to learn
- 専攻 (senkou): specialty/major
- 運動場 (undoujou): playground/schoolyard
- 体育館 (taiikukan): gymnasium
- 食堂 (shokudou): cafeteria (also カフェテリア)
- 不登校 (futoukou): not attending school
- 成績表 (seisekihyou): report card (that contains grades)
- 文科省 (monkashou): Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) [short for 文部科学省]
- I was recently told this is something like a ‘board of education’ in the sense that it decides the educational standards for Japan, although this is just a subset of it’s duties. See more information here.
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Last updated:
April 27, 2022
60 Advanced Japanese Vocabulary Words for Anyone Teaching or Studying at Japanese Schools
If you intend to spend any time in a Japanese school, as a friend, visitor, cultural exchange student or teacher, there’s a lot more advanced Japanese vocabulary you’ll need to navigate the campus.
Some of these will appear on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and your JLPT books, but you need context in order to understand them.
Let’s first get some perspective before we dive into the full list of vocabulary that you’ll need…
Contents
- A Day at School – 学校での一日 (がっこうでの いちにち)
- Japanese Vocabulary for School Staff – 職員 (しょくいん)
- Japanese Vocabulary for Events – 行事 (ぎょうじ)
- Classes and Clubs
- School Objects – 学用品 (がくようひん)
- Daily Life – 日常生活 (にちじょう せいかつ)
- Miscellaneous – その他 (そのた)
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can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
A Day at School – 学校での一日 (がっこうでの いちにち)
Meet Motohiro Fujimura. He’s a second grade student in junior high school (the equivalent of American 8th grade) at a small school in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
Every morning, he wakes up at 6:00 in the morning, eats a breakfast of toast, cereal and scrambled eggs, puts on his uniform (制服, せいふく), grabs his duffel bag and helmet, and rides his bike to school. At 7:00 he has his club activity (部活動, ぶかつ), soccer/football, on the field.
After a grueling half hour of drills, he changes out of his gym clothes and back into his uniform, takes off his outdoor shoes (運動靴, うんどうぐつ), puts on his indoor shoes (上靴, うわぐつ), greets his homeroom teacher (担任, たんにん) and her assistant (副担任, ふくたんにん), puts his belongings into a cubby/locker and sits down to read a book.
His grade level doesn’t have a morning meeting (朝礼, ちょうれい) today, so they immediately get started on homeroom activities. He did his homework for Japanese (国語, こくご) and Industrial Arts (技術, ぎじゅつ) but left his math notebook at school.
Oh no! He’ll turn in that homework tomorrow.
At 11:50, the students clean up the room and put on their aprons, cook’s hats and face masks to get ready for school lunch (給食, きゅうしょく). Excited for a break, the students race each other to the lunch room to grab the metal containers of food. Skidding down the hallways, they sprint back to the classroom, where they start dividing out equal portions of udon, curry, seaweed salad and deep-fried bread (why are they having wheat noodles and deep-fried wheat bread in one meal?! Because they’re growing children and need a lot of carbs, perhaps.)
The lunch leader greets the students, “We humbly receive this meal. Eat up!“ (いただきます！). When it’s time to clean up the greeter says the closing words, “Put your hands together and look at me. Thank you for the meal!” (ごちそうさまでした！).
Finally, recess time (昼休み, ひるやすみ). The students find ways to release steam and entertain themselves on campus. When recess ends, they file back into their homerooms for the last two classes of the day. Motohiro’s class has physical education today, so they all change in the classroom and jog out to the field for track day. When the bell rings, they return for science class, but they have to change back into uniform so class starts a few minutes late. By the time their teacher gets to plant biology, half of the class is asleep, either deep into their food comas or from the running long jumps they were learning in the previous class. The drool coming from the kid sitting next to Moto-kun will still be on his desk tomorrow morning, most likely, as the students stay in the same room for each class while the teachers rotate.
Cleaning time (掃除, そうじ)! The students help clean the school, focusing on the tasks assigned to them at the beginning of each semester, whether it’s mopping that one spot in front of the staff room that’s always inexplicably dirty or “sweeping” the school grounds (chasing each other with the brooms).
The clock hits 3:30 and it’s time for club activities and student council (生徒会, せいとかい) meetings until as late as 6:30 in the evening.
The rest of the evening is an exhausted blur.
And now, the main course…
Japanese Vocabulary for School Staff – 職員 (しょくいん)
Here’s a joke:
Where do the staff eat and drink? In the staff room.
Now in Japanese:
職員は、どこで食べたり、飲んだりする？食飲室。
(しょくいんは、どこでたべたり、のんだりする？しょくいんしつ。)
Get it? The pronunciation for “staff” and “eating and drinking” is identical: しょくいん。Tell this to students or teachers, with gestures added, and you’ll instantly become belle of the ball.
- Assistant language teacher (ALT) – 外国語指導助手 (がいこくご しどう じょしゅ), エーエルティー (えー える てぃー)
If you go overseas to teach English, this is most likely going to be your job title. You’ll either be the English teacher or the assistant to the English teacher.
- Grade leader – 学年団長 (がくねん だんちょう), 団長 (だんちょう)
In many schools, there will be one principal, at least one vice principal, subject heads (Head of English, etc.) and grade leaders. The grade leader essentially acts as the principal for grade-specific things. The grade level is called 学年団 (がくねんだん) and 団 (だん – group) is often used to refer to grade-specific terms (grade level morning meetings 学年団朝礼 [だんちょうれい], and so on.)
- On-duty – 当番 (とうばん) / Day-duty – 日直 (にっちょく)
Now this seems like a weird one to include but it’s a common thing in some, if not all, Japanese schools. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in Japan all the teachers run the school, essentially (with the heads of the school making executive decisions).
Teachers coach sports and run clubs, clean the school, eat lunch with the students and, in many schools, take turns being “on duty” or “on day duty,” meaning unlocking the buildings in the morning, locking up at night and assisting the main office staff. The two common words for this position are 当番 (とうばん) and 日直 (にっちょく), which can also be used for the roles some students play in their homerooms, like the students who start the class greetings, or write the class’s homework on the board. “Duty” is the word of the day.
- Lecturer – 教師 (きょうし)
In order to become a teacher, students in schools of education must take tests at their Board of Education to receive a variety of licenses. If a graduate or student fails their test, they may be assigned as a lecturer on a one-year contract, meaning the Board of Education moves them to a new school every year until they pass their exams. They’re still considered a teacher, meaning they can teach on their own and have homeroom classes, but their contract will only last for one year at a time.
- Homeroom teacher (supervisor) – 担任 (たんにん)
Each year, a group of teachers will be assigned homeroom classes for the year and, depending on the school and the size of the staff, they may have an assistant 副担任 (ふくたんにん) who acts as the homeroom teacher when the main teacher is absent.
More vocabulary:
- Vice principal – 教頭先生 (きょうとうせんせい)
- Principal – 校長先生 (こうちょうせんせい)
- Social worker – ソーシャルワーカー
- Nurse – 看護師 (かんごし)
Japanese Vocabulary for Events – 行事 (ぎょうじ)
A ceremony to start the day, a ceremony to start the semester, a ceremony to open the ceremony. Japan has a lot of ceremonies. You could say it’s a…ceremonious country.
- Ceremonies – 式 (しき)
The opening ceremony 始業式 (しぎょうしき) serves to welcome students back to school after break, while the closing ceremony 終業式 (しゅうぎょうしき) sends them off after the semester ends.
Each year ends with a staff farewell ceremony 離任式 (りにんしき) to…say farewell to staff members who are leaving, while the beginning of the school year in April is marked by a new staff welcome ceremony 着任式 (ちゃくにんしき) for…welcoming new staff members.
Students have graduation ceremonies 卒業式 (そつぎょうしき) in March and matriculation (school entrance) ceremonies 入学式 (にゅうがくしき) a few weeks later, when they start elementary, middle or high school for the first time.
More vocabulary:
- Culture festival – 文化祭 (ぶんかさい)
- Sports festival – 体育祭 (たいいくさい), 運動会 (うんどうかい)
- Field trip – 見学 (けんがく), 修学旅行 (しゅうがく りょこう), 遠足 (えんそく)
Classes and Clubs
Both classes 授業 (じゅぎょう), 科目 (かもく) and clubs 部活動 (ぶかつどう), 部活 (ぶかつ), サークル (さーくる) are a big part of Japanese school life.
- Language arts, Japanese – 国語 (こくご)
Like many schools in the States, which often call English classes for native speakers “Language Arts,” in Japanese schools, Japanese language classes are called “Language” (“National Language,”) and they consist not only of grammar and literature, but also learning Chinese characters and traditional calligraphy.
My own calligraphy is reprehensible but when she had free time, the 8th grade Japanese teacher would delightedly try and teach me calligraphy. Like a typical Japanese person, she always complimented me on it, but I could tell she thought I was a lost cause.
- Moral education – 道徳 (どうとく)
Teaching about morals and real-life experiences is a big feature in Japanese schools. My own base school was focused on learning about disabilities, so one of the biggest moral education lessons each year was a disabilities experience.
The students were challenged to lead each other around the campus, but the students being led had to choose either wheelchairs or blindfolds, so they could feel what it was like to be handicapped. Now imagine a hyperactive 13-year-old wheelchairing at you at top speed screaming “Let’s get the teacher!”
- Class activities – 学活 (がっかつ)
The activities of the class activities class are pretty basic. This is meant to be a time for the homeroom to prepare their classrooms, make materials for events (banners, class photos and so on) and get through some general non-subject-specific tasks.
More vocabulary:
- Calligraphy – 書道 (しょどう), 習字 (しゅうじ)
- Swimming club – 水泳部 (すいえいぶ)
- Track and field club – 陸上部 (りくじょうぶ)
- Tea ceremony club – 茶道部 (さどうぶ)
- Student council – 生徒会 (せいとかい)
- Brass band club – 吹奏楽部 (すいそうがくぶ)
- Industrial arts – 技術 (ぎじゅつ)
School Objects – 学用品 (がくようひん)
- Ransel – ランドセル
This is one you may never even hear in English. A ransel is a style of backpack that originated in the Netherlands and is used by Japanese elementary school students. The backpack is firm-sided and made of leather, unlike the more bag-like backpacks common in higher grades or other countries.
- Indoor shoes – 上靴 (うわぐつ), outdoor shoes – 運動靴 (うんどうぐつ)
It’s commonly known that in Japan, you remove your shoes before entering a building or stepping up into a room. Different people, different buildings, different schools and different cities will have different policies (some let you keep your outdoor shoes on, some ask you to walk around with no shoes, some give you slippers and some have a different set for every single room in the building.)
At school, students have “outdoor shoes,” “indoor shoes” and “gym shoes.” Outdoor shoes are what the students outside of school, at home, etc. Indoor shoes are worn during the school day, and gym shoes are worn in the gymnasium.
There are slight variations on these policies at different schools. For example, my school was one of the most laid-back in the city: the buildings were separated so “outdoor” and “indoor” became “not at school” and “at school,” and sometimes people would wear outdoor shoes into the gym.
- Unicycle – 輪車 (いちりんしゃ)
Raise your hand if you did a triple take when you saw this on the list. At many Japanese elementary schools, unicycles are every bit a part of student life. Students learn to ride them, and somehow most students manage to avoid faceplanting while doing so.
More vocabulary:
- Pencil case – 筆箱 (ふでばこ)
- Sticky note/memo – 付箋 (ふせん)、メモ (めも)
- Namebadge – 名札 (なふだ)
- Uniform – 制服 (せいふく)
- Blackboard – 黒板 (こくばん)
- Ruler – 定規 (じょうぎ)、物差し (ものさし)
- Shoe box/locker – 靴箱 (くつばこ)
Daily Life – 日常生活 (にちじょう せいかつ)
- School lunch – 給食 (きゅうしょく)
Unlike in the United States and perhaps other countries, at most schools in Japan students eat together in their classroom and they all share the same food (divided evenly amongst themselves, of course.) The teachers eat with their classes. A few schools have cafeterias and some choice over food, but those are generally small schools or senior high schools. In small towns, the lunch may be prepared by community members or school staff, while in larger areas, it’ll be distributed by a central company.
- Student number – 出席番号 (しゅっせき ばんごう)
Within homerooms, students are assigned numbers, usually based on where their last name falls alphabetically. Students put their numbers on tests and assignments to help teachers keep track of them. Of course teachers get to know all of their students, but the numbers are still useful. Sometimes teachers use student numbers to determine which student will do a demonstration or answer a question (“Today is the 15th…so who is number 15?”).
- Cram school – 塾 (じゅく)
Students may go to a cram school after school to study for exams or further their knowledge in certain subjects. Testing is very highly valued in Japan, as are cram schools, night schools and so on. For many students, cram school is in addition to club activities (maybe on different days, one after the other or overlapping on the same day).
More vocabulary:
- Exams – 試験 (しけん), テスト (てすと)
- Midterm exam – 中間試験 (ちゅうかん しけん)
- End-of-semester exam – 期末試験 (きまつ しけん)
- Grade – 成績 (せいせき)
- Cleaning time – 掃除 (そうじ)
- Recess – 昼休み (ひるやすみ)
Miscellaneous – その他 (そのた)
- Vacations – 休み (やすみ), 休暇 (きゅうか)
Teachers get different types of vacations, much like other people who work full-time jobs.
There are national holidays and mandatory vacations (special holidays 特別休暇 [とくべつ きゅうか]) like o-bon or Christmas.
There is also paid vacation 有給休暇 (ゆうきゅう きゅうか) that teachers can use as they please (though most Japanese teachers use their paid vacation as sick leave and never touch their sick leave days), compensatory holidays that they receive in exchange for working extra days and sick leave 病気休暇 (びょうき きゅうか) for going to the hospital or recovering in bed.
Teachers generally work every day to varying degrees, though most assistant language teacher contracts are no more than 40 hours a week, a normal full-time work week. In return for coming to school on the weekend, for example, a teacher will receive a compensatory holiday 代休 (だいきゅう).
When the entire school comes on the weekend, for culture festivals, sports days or other reasons, the staff and students get a day off 振り替え休日 (ふりかえ きゅうじつ) during the week, when the school is closed entirely.
- Staff shifting – 職員異動 (しょくいん いどう)
The Japanese school year ends in March, at which point the city governments do a massive trading of staff from one department, town, city, prefecture or level to another. A math teacher from one school may be moved to a remote island somewhere else in the prefecture, while another math teacher from a faraway rural school will come to take their place.
Some schools lose as few as three staff members, while some may lose multiple dozens of teachers (of course in exchange for others.) Additionally, fully-licensed teachers, as an unspoken rule, must complete a certain number of years at a school (three years, for example) before they’re allowed to be moved, and the tacitly-understood full possible tenure of a teacher in one location may be ten years.
It’s a way of exposing students and teachers to multiple lifestyles, teaching styles and people and, as a result, you may find that every single English teacher in the prefecture is close friends with the others.
More vocabulary:
- Morning assembly – 朝礼 (ちょうれい)
- Board of education – 教育委員会 (きょういく いいんかい)
The next time you want to gossip with the teens about how square the principal is, or complain about how hungry you are, don’t worry about having to spit out “the guy who owns the school and is the head of all of us” or “that thing we do when we are hungry, which involves putting food into our mouths at the same time, in the same place, every single day.”
And if you want to maintain your status as the cool kid in school, take after the students in Japanese dramas. Watch school-related movies and series to your heart’s content on streaming platforms like Netflix to make sure you’re saying everything above correctly. To really hone in on your pronunciation and usage, FluentU’s Japanese drama scenes and other media clips come with interactive subtitles that contain contextual examples and options for flashcard practice.
So no need to dance around unknown vocabulary.
You’ve got all the cool words you need to rule the school.
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You are here: Home/ Featured Posts/ Japanese Phrases About Exams and Studies at School
This post explains Japanese words and idioms about exams that are relatable for students!
文武両道 (ぶんぶりょうどう, bunbu ryoudou)
文武両道 (ぶんぶりょうどう) means “the spirit of pursuing excellence in both sports and academics”. For instance, if you make team captain of a sports club while scoring great marks in school, you achieve this spirit.
Example
あのサッカー部のキャプテンはテストでも学年１位をとり、文武両道を達成している。
The captain of the soccer club scored the best on the school exams; he achieves 文武両道.
ヤマを張る (やまをはる, yama o haru)
ヤマを張(は)る (yama o haru) is a Japanese idiom that means “make a guess/guestimate”. In particular, it is often used when you guestimate the questions/topics/subjects you will be asked in an exam, and focus on studying them. For instance, if you have a Japanese exam tomorrow, you may focus on studying keigo only, hoping that there will be many keigo-related questions. Some people are audacious enough to take a hit-or-miss strategy and study only what they guess will be asked in the exam while completely ignoring the other subjects.
In fact, ヤマを張る is also written as “山を張る”, where 山 means “mountain”. One of the theories of the origin has it that this idiom refers to how miners used to “strike gold” in the old days. There is also another related word, “山勘 (やまかん)”, which means “a random guess” and sounds more random and less reliable than just 勘 (かん), meaning “guess/intuition”. When you make a right guess, you can say “ヤマ/山勘/勘が当(あ)たった” and when you make a wrong one, that is “ヤマ/山勘/勘が外(はず)れた”.
Example
明日 (あした) 、日本語の試験(しけん)があるけど、時間(じかん)がないから ヤマを張って敬語(けいご)だけ勉強 (べんきょう)しよう。
I have a Japanese exam tomorrow, but I don’t have much time left so I’ll guestimate the questions and study keigo only.
ヤマが当たって良(い)い点(てん)が取(と)れた
I made the right guess and could get good marks
一夜漬け (いちやづけ, ichiya zuke)
一夜漬け (ichiya zuke) literally means “a one-night soak”, and figuratively “cram for a test in only one night”. In other words, it is an act of soaking up knowledge from scratch only the night before the exam. As you’d know, a myriad of lazy students can’t be bothered to study during the exam preparation period, and end up burning the midnight oil to do 一夜漬け at the last minute. To make the “one-night soak” work, many of them also do ヤマを張(は)る (see above).
Example
一夜漬けで覚(おぼ)えたことは、簡単（かんたん）に忘(わす)れる
You can easily forget what you have memorised by cramming in only one night before an exam.
徹夜 (てつや, tetsuya) and オール (“all”)
徹夜 (testuya) consists of two kanji 徹 (てつ) meaning “penetrate, throughout” and 夜 (や) meaning “night”. Therefore, 徹夜(+する) means “to stay up all night”, and a lot of students do 徹夜 to prepare for their exams. If you do 徹夜 two days in a row, that’s “二徹 (にてつ)”.
Instead of 徹夜, some young people (teenagers~early 20s) also say “オール(する)”, where オール comes from “all” in English.
Example
徹夜/オールした次(つぎ)の日(ひ)、２０時間(じかん)寝(ね)た。
The day after I pulled an all-nighter, I slept for 20 h
カラオケオールしたからマジ眠(ねむ)い。
Because I stayed up all night at karaoke, I’m so sleepy.
* Karaoke boxes in Japan are usually open until early morning (e.g. 5 am). Most of them also have all-you-can-drink systems, so you can do “オール” while being plastered with heaps of drinks.
語呂合わせ (ごろあわせ, goro awase)
語呂合わせ (goro awase) means “make a pun to memorise something”. Here is one of the most famous examples of 語呂合わせ:
“いい国作ろう、鎌倉幕府”
“Let’s build a good country, Kamakura shogunate”.
Many Japanese people memorise this sentence to remember that the Kamakura shogunate was established in 1192; here, いい国(くに) makes a pun with 1192 (いち いち く に).
Example
歴史(れきし)の年号(ねんごう)を語呂合わせで覚(おぼ)える人(ひと)は多(おお)い。
Many people memorise years of historical events by making puns.
* In fact, it is very common for Japanese people to employ 語呂合わせ to memorise years for a history exam, but some people also make this kind of puns to memorise new words in English or old-Japanese. (e.g. “deny” は 「〜でない」と否定(ひてい)する). There are also famous puns to memorise a square root of numbers (shown below) if you’re interested.
√2 ≒ 一夜(ひとよ)一夜(ひとよ)に人(ひと)見(み)ごろ
“One night and another night, now it’s a good timing to see people” (Actually it doesn’t make much sense)
This is a pun to memorise √2 ≒ 1.41421356
ひ(1) よ(4) ひ(1) よ(4) に(2) ひ(1) み(3) ご(5) ろ(6)
ひとつ よん ひとつ よん に ひとつ みっつ ご ろく
√3 ≒ 人(ひと)並(な)みに奢(おご)れや
“Pay for others as much as other people normally do”
Thids is a pun to memorise √3 ≒ 1.7320508
ひ (1) な( 7) み(3) に(2) お (0) ご (5) れ(0) や (8)
ひとつ なな みっつ に オウ(O) ご 零（れい） やっつ
√5 ≒ 富士山麓（ふじさんろく）オウム鳴（な）く
“At the foot of Mt Fuji, a parrot sings”
This is a pun to memorise √5 ≒ 2.2360679
ふ (2) じ (2) さん (3) ろく (6) オウ (0) む (6) な (7) く (9)
ふたつ 二 さん ろく オウ(O) むっつ なな く
Other Relevant School Vocab
- 学(まな)ぶ or 勉強(べんきょう)する: study
- 習(なら)う: learn, be taught
- 宿題(しゅくだい): homework
- 課題(かだい): assignment
- 独学(どくがく): study on my own (without being taught by someone)
- 自習(じしゅう): study/review by myself (to prepare for exams, etc.)
- テスト/試験(しけん): test/exam
- 満点(まんてん): full marks
- 暗記 (あんき): memorise
- 丸暗記（まるあんき）: memorise something without understanding it very much
- 抜(ぬ)き打(う)ちテスト: “a surprise test”
「今から抜き打ちテストを始める」と言った瞬間、多くの生徒が悲鳴を上げた
“I’m giving you a surprise test now”, I said, which immediately prompted a number of students to scream.