School, Study, and Work

Vocabulary for school and teachers

Vocabulary for school and teachers covers words for places of learning, people who teach, and activities of learning. In JLPT N5 questions, these words are tested in two directions: reading kanji as hiragana, or writing hiragana as the correct kanji. For this reason, you need to memorize the meaning, reading, and kanji form of each word, and also recognize kanji that sound similar but have different meanings.

• 先生(せんせい, teacher) — a person who teaches. Read せんせい with a long vowel 「い」 in the second syllable. 先 is read せん, and 生 is read せい (not ぜい or さい). The forms せんせ (without い), せいせい, and せんぜい are not correct readings. This word is also used to address doctors or lawyers. It is written 先生, not 光生 or 洗生. 例) 先生は教室で日本語を教えます。

• 学校(がっこう, school) — a place of learning. 学 is read がく and 校 is read こう. The reading がっこう has a small 「っ」 (double consonant) in the middle and a voiced initial 「が」. The forms かっこう (name of a cuckoo bird), がこう, and がっこく are not correct readings. This word is written 学校, not 字校, 楽校, 学交, or 学効. The kanji 楽 (がく) and 効 (こう) sound similar, but they do not form the word for school. 例) 学校の図書館で本を読みます。

• 教室(きょうしつ, classroom) — 教 is read きょう and 室 is read しつ. The readings きょうじつ and きょうしゅう are wrong because their final sound does not match 室 (しつ). The form きょしつ is wrong because the long vowel 「う」 in 教 is lost. 例) 教室には黒板があります。

• 勉強(べんきょう, study) — the activity of studying, used with the pattern 「勉強します」. 勉 is read べん and 強 is read きょう (not ぎょう). The initial 「べ」 is voiced, so へんきょう and めんきょう are wrong. The forms べんぎょう, ぺんきょう (with 半濁点), and べんきゅう are also wrong. The reading べんきょ loses the 「う」, and べんきょお is wrong because the long vowel 「う」 is written with 「う」. In writing, 勉 must be written as 勉. The kanji 免 (めん), 便 (べん, as in 便利), 教 (きょう), and 協 (きょう) are not used in the word べんきょう. 例) 友だちと一緒に英語を勉強します。 The preparation activity for an exam tomorrow or in the evening is 勉強します, not another activity such as 散歩 or 買い物.

• 試験(しけん, exam) — a formal exam or test. The word テスト (from English) is also used in everyday conversation with a similar meaning. Common patterns are 「試験があります」 (there is an exam) and 「試験を受けます」 (take an exam). The expression 「試験をします」 is used when someone holds an exam. Words such as やすみ (holiday), そうじ (cleaning), さんぽ (walk), おふろ (bath), and くすり (medicine) are not exam activities or events. 例) 来週、漢字の試験があります。

• 漢字(かんじ, kanji) — 漢 is read かん and 字 is read じ. The reading がんじ is wrong because its initial sound is voiced, whereas 漢字 is read with the unvoiced か. The words かんし (監視, supervision) and かんしゃ (感謝, gratitude) sound similar but have different meanings. 例) 毎日、漢字を十個覚えます。

• 日本語(にほんご, Japanese language) — 日 is read にほん, 本 is read ほん, and 語 is read ご. The writing 日本後 is wrong because 後 (あと) means after. The writing 目本語 is wrong because 目 (め) means eye. The writing 日本吾 is wrong because 吾 (ご) is not a kanji for language. 例) 日本語の本を借ります。

Vocabulary for work and office

Vocabulary for work and office is used to talk about workplaces, work activities, and working hours. In the N5 exam, the items most often tested are kanji readings, kanji writing, and the meaning of words in sentences, so each word should be memorized together with its reading.

Key words and their readings: