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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "professor" in Japanese?
教授
kyouju
In Japanese, "professor" is 教授 (kyouju).
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Pronunciation
Pronounce kyou-JU, sharing the same kyou opening as teacher but ending in a soft ju instead of shi.
Writing and usage
教授 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
教授が歴史について講義をしました。
kyouju ga rekishi nitsuite kougi woshimashita.
The professor gave a lecture on history.
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How to remember 教授
Kyouju looks almost like kyoushi but swaps the ending, just as a professor is one step up from a teacher.
Related words
- surgeon 外科医 gekai
- veterinarian 獣医 juui
- pharmacist 薬剤師 yakuzaishi
- teacher 教師 kyoushi
- architect 建築家 kenchikuka
- judge 裁判官 saibankan
- police 警察 keisatsu
- firefighter 消防士 shouboushi
- soldier 兵士 heishi
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 教授
How do you pronounce 教授?
Pronounce kyou-JU, sharing the same kyou opening as teacher but ending in a soft ju instead of shi.
Is 教授 formal or casual?
教授 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 教授 written in Japanese?
教授 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as kyouju.
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.
"Professor" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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