同學 / 同学
tóngxué
To say classmate in Chinese, use 同學 / 同学 (tóngxué). If unsure, use 同學 / 同学. Wiktionary also lists 同班同學 / 同班同学 (tóngbāntóngxué) and 同班 (tóngbān).
Meaning: student who is in the same class at school (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 同學 / 同学 | tóngxué |
| 同班同學 / 同班同学 | tóngbāntóngxué |
| 同班 | tóngbān |
同學 can also be used as a polite way to address a student or peer directly in a classroom setting.
What does it mean word for word?
同 means same and 學 means study, so the word literally means same study. In 同班 (tóngbān) the character 班 refers to the class or group, so it means same class.
Which one should you use?
The shorter 同學 is more common in casual conversation, while 同班同學 / 同班同学 (tóngbāntóngxué) stresses that you are in the exact same class section.
How do you pronounce it?
In pinyin it is tóngxué, with a rising tone on both syllables.
Did you know?
- Chinese has several terms for 'classmate' based on the level of intimacy, such as 同窗 (tóngchuāng), which literally means 'same window'. This poetic term refers to the old custom of students sitting together by a window to study.
- Adults may use 同學 (tóngxué) as a social shorthand to address a complete stranger if they suspect the person is a student. It acts as a polite way to initiate a conversation with a young person.
- The character 班 (bān) used in 同班 originally referred to a shift or a team of workers. This reflects a historical view of a school class as a disciplined unit or a 'shift' of students.
Examples in context
- 他是我的同班同学。He is my classmate.Here 同班同学 makes clear that he is in the same class as the speaker.Tatoeba #1516198 by gonnastop, translation #297810 by CK
Sources
- Wiktionary, “classmate” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
