How do you say "school" in Japanese?

学校

gakkō

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "school" is 学校 (gakkō).

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Pronunciation

学校 is written using kanji. Romanised as gakkō, it sounds roughly like "gahk-koh" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

学 (study/learning) combines with 校 (school). The first character is fundamental to Japanese education vocabulary and appears in many learning-related compounds.

Example sentence

学校は駅から歩いて五分です。

Gakkou wa eki kara aruita go-fun desu.

The school is five minutes walk from the station.

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How to remember 学校

Study (学) + school (校) = the place where learning happens.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese nouns.

Questions about 学校

How do you pronounce 学校?

学校 is romanised as gakkō. Say it roughly like "gahk-koh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 学校 formal or casual?

学校 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 学校 written in Japanese?

学校 is written using kanji. 学 (study/learning) combines with 校 (school).

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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"School" in other languages

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