欠席
kesseki[ke̞sːe̞kʲi]
In Japanese, 'someone is absent' is expressed as 欠席 (kesseki).
The term 欠席 is used when a person is not present at a scheduled event, such as a class or a meeting. It is typically used in formal contexts, such as official attendance records or formal announcements. You can also use the related form 欠席者 to refer specifically to the 'absentee' or the 'person who is absent'.
How do you pronounce it?
kesseki
Did you know?
- The character 欠 used in 欠席 is actually a simplified version of the older character 缺, which originally depicted a broken tooth to represent a deficiency.
- The phrase 欠席させていただきます allows a person to frame their absence as a favor granted to them by the organizer. It literally means 'I will humbly receive the favor of being absent'.
- In Japanese, the concept of absence is split by location. While 欠席 is used for events like weddings or classes, 欠勤 is used specifically for missing a workday.
Examples in context
- 田中さんは欠席です。Mr./Ms. Tanaka is absent.
- 営業部長は不在です。The sales department manager is not present.
- 彼、今いないよ。He's not here right now.
- 彼、まだ来ていない。He hasn't arrived yet.
- XXさんは病気で欠席ですMr./Ms. XX is absent due to illness
- 本日の会議は、田中さんが欠席です。Honjitsu no kaigi wa, Tanaka-san ga kesseki desu.Tanaka is absent from today's meeting.
- 彼は体調不良のため、授業を欠席しました。Kare wa taichou furyou no tame, jugyou o kesseki shimashita.He was absent from class due to poor health.
- 昨日の練習は、ほとんどの人が欠席でした。Kinou no renshuu wa, hotondo no hito ga kesseki deshita.Most people were absent from yesterday's practice.
Example conversation
Two students are talking in a classroom before a lecture starts.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮君、今日の授業の出席確認はした？Ren-kun, kyou no jugyou no shusseki kakunin wa shita?Ren, did you check the attendance for today's class?
- 蓮 Renうん、佐藤さんが欠席だよ。Un, Sato-san ga kesseki da yo.Yeah, Sato is absent.
- 美咲 Misakiそうなんだ。何かあったのかな？Sou nanda. Nanika atta no kana?I see. I wonder if something happened?
- 蓮 Ren風邪を引いたみたいだよ。Kaze o hiita mitai da yo.It looks like he caught a cold.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 欠席, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 欠席, CC BY-SA 4.0.
