How do you say "student" in Japanese?

学生

gakusei

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "student" is 学生 (gakusei).

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Pronunciation

学生 is written using kanji. Romanised as gakusei, it sounds roughly like "gah-koo-seh" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Gakusei (学生) combines gaku (study) and sei (person/life). Japanese job titles use various endings like shi (士) for licensed professionals or sha (者) for workers.

Example sentence

町には優秀な学生がいます。

Machi ni wa yuushuu na gakusei ga imasu.

There is a skilled student in town.

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How to remember 学生

Gaku means study and sei means person. A gakusei is a person whose life revolves around studying.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese nouns.

Questions about 学生

How do you pronounce 学生?

学生 is romanised as gakusei. Say it roughly like "gah-koo-seh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 学生 formal or casual?

学生 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 学生 written in Japanese?

学生 is written using kanji. Gakusei (学生) combines gaku (study) and sei (person/life).

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.

"Student" in other languages

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