Japanese Conversation · Level 83
60 words
Japanese word
同窓
Pronunciation
Romajidōsō
Meaning
- nounalumnus
Example
彼とは大学の同窓です。kare to wa dai gaku no dō sō de su
He and I are fellow alumni of the same university.
More examples
大学時代の同窓と久しぶりに再会しました。dai gaku ji dai no dō sō to hisa shi bu ri ni sai kai shi ma shi ta
I reunited with a college classmate after many years.
Core concept
Centers on belonging to the same school community, whether the people are remembered as classmates or as graduates.
Common phrases
同窓の友dō sō no tomo
fellow alumnus
同窓と再会するdō sō to sai kai su ru
reunite with a fellow alumnus
Similar words
同窓生dōsōsei: A person who attended the same school as another person.
Definition in Japanese
同じ学校を卒業した者。ona ji gak kō o sotsu gyō shi ta mono
Word origin
The compound 同窓 (dōsō) combines 同 (dō, "same") and 窓 (sō, "window"), referring to people who studied in the same school setting.
Usage tips
- In English, alumnus traditionally refers to a male graduate, alumna to a female graduate, and alumni to more than one graduate, while Japanese uses 同窓 (dōsō) for people of any gender.
Other meanings
- schoolmatenoun
Related words
- 同窓生dōsōseifellow alumnusnoun