学年
gakunen[ɡa̠kɯ̟nẽ̞ɴ]
The phrase for "grade level" in Japanese is 学年 (gakunen).
学年 refers to the specific year of schooling a student is in, often used to describe the collective group of students within a certain year, such as "the third-grade level".
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 学, meaning study or learning and 年, meaning year.
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between 学年 and 年生. While 学年 refers to the grade level as an abstract concept or a collective group, 年生 is used when referring to an individual student's position, such as saying "I am a second-year student" (二年生です).
How do you pronounce it?
gakunen
Did you know?
- Japanese schools use a system of 'senpai' (senior) and 'kohai' (junior) based on 学年. Even a one-year difference in grade level creates a distinct social hierarchy in how students speak to each other.
- The concept of 学年 extends into the professional world, where coworkers who join a company in the same year are treated as part of a collective 'grade' called 同期 (douki).
- In Japan, the school year begins in April rather than September or January. This means that a student's 学年 changes during the spring, often coinciding with the start of the new Japanese fiscal year.
Examples in context
- 今日は六年生の学級委員会があります。We have a class committee meeting for sixth grade today.
- 六年生Sixth grade
- 去年、俺は小学六年生だった。Last year, I was a sixth-grader.
- 小学六年生Sixth-grader in elementary school
- 彼は高校三年生なんだって。He is a third-year high school student, you know.
- 高校三年生Third-year high school student
- 学年によってクラスが分かれています。Gakunen ni yotte kurasu ga wakarete imasu.Classes are divided by grade level.
Example conversation
Two students are chatting during a school break.
- 大翔 Hiroto美咲さんは、今何学年ですか？Misaki-san wa, ima nan gakunen desu ka?Misaki, what grade level are you in now?
- 美咲 Misaki私は中学二年生です。Watashi wa chūgaku ninen-sei desu.I am a second-year junior high student.
- 大翔 Hirotoあ、僕と学年が違いますね。A, boku to gakunen ga chigaimasu ne.Ah, our grade levels are different.
- 美咲 Misakiそうですね。大翔さんは三年生ですよね？Sō desu ne. Daishō-san wa san-nen-sei desu yo ne?That's true. Daishō, you are a third-year student, right?
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 学年, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
