What does “gakkou” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “gakkou” to mean ‘school’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese textbooks. 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 understand “gakkou” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
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.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
What does “gakkou” literally mean in Japanese?
The kanji expression of “gakkou” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 学 : a kanji character used to refer to the act of studying or learning. This kanji can also be found in other words like “gakusei“, “daigaku“, and “manabu“.
- 校 : a kanji character often used to refer to a place to study or learn.
These two kanji characters tell us that “gakkou” literally means a ‘place to study’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meaning, I think. Schools are often places to study.
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 the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “gakkou” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “gakkou” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “school” in Japanese
watashi wa ashita gakkou desu – 私は明日学校です (わたしはあしたがっこうです)
I have school tomorrow.
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 almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence 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 phrase, “ashita gakkou desu”, which means ‘to have school tomorrow’ in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “gakkou”
boku wa gakkou de kanojo ni at ta – 僕は学校で彼女に会った (ぼくはがっこうでかのじょにあった)
I met her at school.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “gakkou” to say where the speaker met her.
- 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 whom the speaker met.
- at – 会っ (あっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “au”, which means ‘to meet’ or ‘to see’ 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 the speaker met her. When we want to mean a ‘school’ or ‘schools’ in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always 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’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meaning, I think. Schools are often places to study. When we want to mean a ‘school’ or ‘schools’ in Japanese, this noun is always a very good option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
