【保育園（ほいくえん）】”HOIKU-EN”
Meaning:
daycare/nursery school
Usage:
「ギリギリで娘の保育園が決まってよかった…！」
（ぎりぎりでむすめのほいくえんがきまってよかった…!）
(Giri-giri de musume no hoiku-en ga kimatte yokatta…!)
”I’m glad I found a daycare for my daughter at the last minute…!”
- 「保育園」is a children’s facility that takes care of children from two months old to before they enter elementary school when their parents are unable to take care of them during the day due to work or other reasons.
Glossary:
- ギリギリ（ぎりぎり）: barely; at the last moment
- 娘（むすめ）: daughter
- 保育園（ほいくえん）: daycare; nursery
- 決まる（きまる）: to be decided; to be settled
- ～してよかった : to be glad to have done […]
【幼稚園（ようちえん）】”YŌCHI-EN”
Meaning:
kindergarten
Usage:
「この二人は幼稚園の頃からの親友です。」
（このふたりはようちえんのころからのしんゆうです。）
(Kono futari wa yōchi-en no koro kara no shinyū-desu.)
“These two have been best friends since kindergarten.”
- 「幼稚園」is a facility for learning before entering elementary school, and can be attended from April after turning 3 years old until before entering elementary school.
- 「保育園」 and 「幼稚園」 are similar, but the ministries and laws that cover them are different. 「保育園」 take care of children on behalf of their working parents, so they basically take care of children for a long time all year round, except for a short vacation period at the end and beginning of the year. 「幼稚園」 is designed for children to learn, so they have long vacations such as summer and winter vacations, and the daily hours of care are about four hours.
Glossary:
- この～: this […]; these […]
- 二人（ふたり）: two people
- 幼稚園（ようちえん）: kindergarten
- ～の頃（～のころ）: when something [/someone] was [/used to be] […]
- ～からの: from […]; since […]
- 親友（しんゆう）: best friend
【小学校（しょうがっこう）】”SHŌ-GAKKŌ”
Meaning:
elementary school
Usage:
「小学校になると子供たちは自分たちだけで登下校するようになる。」
（しょうがっこうになるとこどもたちはじぶんたちだけでとうげこうするようになる。）
(Shō-gakkō ni naruto kodomo-tachi wa jibun-tachi-dake de tōgekō-suruyouni naru.)
“Once children enter elementary school, they start going to school by themselves.”
- Elementary school starts in April when you turn 6 and ends in March when you turn 12.
- Elementary school is compulsory education, and parents are obligated to make sure their children receive compulsory education.
Glossary:
- 小学校（しょうがっこう）: elementary school
- なる: to become; to be
- 子供（こども）: child(ren)
- たち（達）: pluralizing suffix
- 自分（じぶん）: myself, ourselves
- ～だけ: only […]; just […]
- 登下校（とうげこう）: going to and back from school
【中学校（ちゅうがっこう）】”CHŪ-GAKKŌ”
Meaning:
junior high school
Usage:
「中学校では、全生徒が部活動と呼ばれるクラブ活動に参加します。」
（ちゅうがっこうでは、ぜんせいとがぶかつどうとよばれるくらぶかつどうにさんかします。）
(Chū-gakkō dewa, zen-seito ga bukatsudō to yobareru kurabu-katsudō ni sanka-shimasu.)
“In junior high school, all students participate in club activities called ‘Bukatsudō’.”
- Junior high school is also compulsory education, and parents are obligated to make sure their children receive compulsory education.
- Basically, all students participate in club activities, and after classes end around 3:00 p.m., they participate in club activities for about two hours before going home. There are two main types of club activities, athletic and cultural, and students can join the club activities of their choice. The most common club activities are as follows:
- サッカー部 (さっかーぶ / sakkā-bu / “soccer club”)
- バスケ部 (ばすけぶ / basuke-bu / “basketball club”)
- 野球部 (やきゅうぶ / yakyū-bu / “baseball club”)
- 美術部 (びじゅつぶ / bijutsu-bu / “art club”)
- 演劇部 (えんげきぶ / engeki-bu / “drama club”)
- 吹奏楽部 (すいそうがくぶ / suisōgaku-bu / “brass band”)
Glossary:
- 中学校（ちゅうがっこう）: junior high school
- 全～（ぜん～）: all […]
- 生徒（せいと）: student
- 全生徒（ぜんせいと）: all students
- 部活動（ぶかつどう）: club activity
- クラブ活動（くらぶかつどう）: club activity
- ～と呼ばれる（～とよばれる）: called […]
- 参加する（さんかする）: to participate
【高校（こうこう）】”KŌKŌ”
Meaning:
high school
Usage:
「私の高校は厳しかったから、アルバイト禁止だったよ。」
（わたしのこうこうはきびしかったから、あるばいときんしだったよ。）
(Watashi no kōkō wa kibishikatta kara, arubaito kinshi dattayo.)
“My high school was very strict, so we were not allowed to have part-time jobs.”
- High school is generally referred to as 「高校」, which is an abbreviation for 「高等学校 (こうとうがっこう / kōtō gakkō)」.
- The word 「アルバイト (あるばいと / arubaito)」comes from a German word “arbeiten”(= “to work”).
Glossary:
- 私の～（わたしの～）: my […]
- 高校（こうこう）: high school
- 厳しい（きびしい）: strict
- ～（だ）から）: because […]; […], so
- アルバイト（あるばいと）: part-time job
- 禁止（きんし）: ban; prohibition
【大学（だいがく）】”DAIGAKU”
Meaning:
college/university
Usage:
「大半の人が大学生のうちに車の免許を取ります。」
（たいはんのひとがだいがくせいのうちにくるまのめんきょをとります。）
(Taihan no hito ga daigaku-sei no uchi ni kuruma no menkyo o torimasu.)
“Most people get their car license while they are still in college.”
- It is said that Japanese colleges are difficult to get into and easy to get out of. It depends on the department and other factors, but having attended both Japanese and American colleges, I can tell you that there are fewer daily assignments and research in Japan. Many people think of college as the last time they can play before entering the real grownups world.
Glossary:
- 大半の人（たいはんのひと）: most people
- 大学生（だいがくせい）: college student; university student
- ～のうち: while
- 車（くるま）: car
- 免許（めんきょ）: license
- 取る（とる）: to take; to get
【大学院（だいがくいん）】”DAIGAKU-IN”
Meaning:
graduate school
Usage:
「大学院がこんなに忙しいだなんて思いもしなかった…。」
（だいがくいんがこんなにいそがしいだなんておもいもしなかった…。）
(Daigakuin ga kon-na ni isogashī da-nante omoi-mo-shinakatta.)
“I never thought that graduate school would be so busy…”
- It is said that the graduate school advancement rate in Japan is about 5% for master’s programs and about 0.7% for Ph.D. programs.
Glossary:
- 大学院（だいがくいん）: graduate school
- こんなに: like this
- 忙しい（いそがしい）: busy
- ～(だ)なんて思いもしなかった（だなんておもいもしなかった）: I never thought that …