Gakkou is the Japanese word for ‘school’, explained

What does “gakkou” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “gakkou” to mean ‘school’ in Japanese. Very simple. Probably, some Japanese learners know this word well as it is quite often used in Japanese movies, songs, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “gakkou” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “gakkou”
• Gakkou in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “I have school” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “gakkou”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “gakkou”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “gakkou”.

• gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning ‘school’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Native speakers use this noun to refer to a school or schools. This can work in more or less the same way as the English noun, “school”, does.

The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

Gakkou in kanji

The kanji expression of “gakkou” consists of the following two characters:

• 学 : a kanji character used to mean ‘to study’ or ‘to learn’ in Japanese. This kanji character is widely used in Japanese words related to the act of studying or learning. This can also be found in other words like “gakusei” which means ‘student’ in Japanese.
• 校 : a kanji character often used to mean a place to study or learn.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “gakkou” literally means a place to study or a place to learn. This literal interpretation seems to be completely in line with the meaning.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “gakkou” through the detailed kanji check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “gakkou” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “I have school” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works as a topic marker after “watashi” to put a focus on it. The formed phrase, “watashi wa”, sometimes can work like the English phrase, “for me”.
• ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “tomorrow” in Japanese.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “gakkou” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “gakkou”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “ashita gakkou desu”, which means ‘to have school tomorrow’ in Japanese.

Example #2: another usage of “gakkou”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• de – で : a case particle used to say where something happens. In the example, this is used after “gakkou” to indicate where “kare” met “kanojo”.
• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say to whom an action is directed. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to say to whom the action, ‘to have met’, is directed.
• at – 会っ (あっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “au”, which means ‘to meet’, ‘to see’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “at” to make its past tense form, “at ta”.

This is another typical usage of “gakkou”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “de”, to say where “kare” met “kanojo”. When we want to say “school” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a very good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “gakkou” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning ‘school’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean a place to study or a place to learn. When we want to say “school” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.