Student in Japanese: gakusei vs. seito, explained in detail

How to say “student” in Japanese

Native speakers would say “gakusei” or “seito” to mean ‘student’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know these two options well as they are quite often used in Japanese textbooks. In this blog post, however, I will explain them in detail based on their kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “gakusei” and “seito” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “gakusei”
• Gakusei in kanji
• Definition and meaning of “seito”
• Seito in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “students” in Japanese
  • Example #2: how to use “seito”
• Summary: gakusei vs. seito

Definition and meaning of “gakusei”

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

• gakusei – 学生 (がくせい) : a noun meaning ‘student’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Native speakers use this noun to refer to a person or people learning something in school in Japanese. So, we can use this noun for elementary school students, junior high school students, high school students, and university students. In this regard, this noun is different from the other one, “seito”.

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.

Gakusei in kanji

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

• 学 : a kanji character widely used to express the act of studying. This kanji can also be found in other words like “gakkou“.
• 生 : a kanji character widely used to express the act of living or growing. This kanji can also be found in other words like “tanjoubi“.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “gakusei” literally means ‘studying and growing’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very close, I think. In the Japanese language, students can be considered as those who study something and grow up.

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 “gakusei” through the detailed kanji check above.

Next, let me explain the other one, “seito”, in detail.

Definition and meaning of “seito”

Below are the definition and meaning of “seito”.

• seito – 生徒 (せいと) : a noun meaning ‘student’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

The definition and meaning of “seito” are the same as those of “gakusei”. However, these two nouns are not the same. While “gakusei” basically refers to a person or people learning something in school, “seito” can additionally refer to a person or people learning something outside of school. So, “seito” can cover a wider range. Actually, it is very useful when we want to refer to a person or people learning something, for example, in a culture class outside of school.

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.

Seito in kanji

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

• 生 : the same as explained above. This kanji character is widely used to express the act of living or growing.
• 徒 : a kanji character often used to mean ‘apprentice’.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “seito” literally means ‘growing apprentice’. This literal interpretation is not so far away from the actual meaning, I think.

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

Example #1: how to say “students” in Japanese

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.
• tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
• 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 “gakusei” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “gakusei”. In this example, it works as plural to mean ‘students’ in Japanese. Due to its scope, we can understand that “boku tachi” are people learning something in school. When we want to refer to a person or people learning something in school in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.

Example #2: how to use “seito”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• ryouri – 料理 (りょうり) : a noun meaning ‘cooking’ in Japanese. This is a noun, but can work like an adjective to describe its following word with adding the meaning of ‘cooking’.
• kyoushitsu – 教室 (きょうしつ) : a noun meaning ‘classroom’ in Japanese. This can also mean a class or lesson outside of school.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns or noun equivalent words. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “ryouri kyoushitsu” and “seito”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a student of the cooking class’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is very similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.

This is a typical usage of “seito”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “ryouri kyoushitsu no seito”, which means ‘a student of the cooking class’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to a person or people learning something outside of school in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.

Summary: gakusei vs. seito

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “gakusei” and “seito” in detail based on their kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• gakusei – 学生 (がくせい) : a noun meaning ‘student’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘studying and growing’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very close, I think. In the Japanese language, students can be considered as those who study something and grow up.
• seito – 生徒 (せいと) : a noun meaning ‘student’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘growing apprentice’. This literal interpretation is not so far away from the actual meaning, I think.

How are they different?

• “Gakusei” basically refers to a person or people learning something in school. So, we can use this noun for elementary school students, junior high school students, high school students, and university students.
• “Seito” can additionally refer to a person or people learning something outside of school. So, “seito” can cover a wider range. Actually, this noun is very useful when we want to refer to a person or people learning something, for example, in a culture class outside of school.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.