Japanese word

同級生

Pronunciation

Romajidōkyūsei

Meaning

  • nounclassmate

Example

私の同級生は東京に住んでいます。watashi no dō kyū sei wa tō kyō ni su n de i ma su

My classmate lives in Tokyo.

Illustration for 同級生 (classmate)

More examples

卒業後も、同級生と時々連絡を取っています。sotsu gyō go mo dō kyū sei to toki doki ren raku o to tte i ma su

I still keep in touch with my classmate from time to time after graduation.

Core concept

Describes a student who belongs to the same class or grade as another student.

Common phrases

  • 同級生と話すdō kyū sei to hana su

    talk with a classmate

  • 同級生に会うdō kyū sei ni a u

    meet a classmate

  • 同級生の一人dō kyū sei no hito ri

    one of the classmates

Similar words

クラスメートkurasumēto: A student in the same class as another student.
学友gakuyū: A fellow student who attends the same school.

Definition in Japanese

同じ学級や学年で学ぶ生徒や学生。ona ji gak kyū ya gaku nen de mana bu sei to ya gaku sei

Word origin

The Sino-Japanese compound 同級生 (dōkyūsei) combines 同 (dō, "same"), 級 (kyū, "class or grade"), and 生 (sei, "student or person") to describe a student in the same class or grade.

Usage tips

  • In everyday English, classmate is more precise than schoolmate when students are in the same class, while schoolmate can mean anyone at the same school.

Other meanings

  • schoolmatenoun

Word lists with this word