How do you say "graduation" in Japanese?

卒業

sotsugyou

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "graduation" is 卒業 (sotsugyou).

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Pronunciation

Say so-tsu-GYOU, three syllables with a long held final ou, shorter than the related word for diploma.

Writing and usage

卒業 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

家族全員が彼女の卒業式に来てくれました。

kazokuzen'in ga kanojo no sotsugyoushiki ni kite kuremashita.

The whole family came to her graduation.

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How to remember 卒業

Sotsugyou is the short root hiding inside sotsugyoushousho, diploma - graduation is the event, the diploma is the proof.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 卒業

How do you pronounce 卒業?

Say so-tsu-GYOU, three syllables with a long held final ou, shorter than the related word for diploma.

Is 卒業 formal or casual?

卒業 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 卒業 written in Japanese?

卒業 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as sotsugyou.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Graduation" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

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