大学
daigaku[da̠iɡa̠kɯ̟]
The Japanese word for university is 大学 (daigaku). Wiktionary also lists 大学校 (daigakkō).
Meaning: institution of higher education (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 大学 | daigaku | [da̠iɡa̠kɯ̟] (narrow) |
| 大学校 | daigakkō | [da̠iɡa̠k̚ko̞ː] (narrow) |
大学 refers to a standard institution of higher education. It is used to refer to both the institution itself and the physical campus or place of study. For example, if you are talking about a technical university, you would use 工業大学.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 大学 literally means "great learning", consisting of the characters for "great" (大) and "learning/study" (学).
Which one should you use?
大学 is the term for a standard university, whereas 大学校 typically refers to specialized training colleges or academies, such as those used for maritime or police studies.
How do you pronounce it?
daigaku
Did you know?
- In Japanese culture, the prestige of a 大学 is often determined by its 'deviation value' 偏差値, a statistical measure of how difficult it is to enter.
- University students in Japan often refer to their 'circle' サークル, which are non-official student clubs that differ from the formal 部 clubs.
- A student might refer to their university as 母校 meaning 'mother school' when speaking with nostalgia or pride about their alma mater.
Examples in context
- 大学生です。I am a university student.This sentence is useful for stating your status as a student of the form 大学.Tatoeba #137609 by tommy_san, translation #275627 by CC
- トムって大学生？Is Tom a university student?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is a student of the form 大学.Tatoeba #8730520 by bunbuku, translation #8412673 by CK
- 大学に行ってるの？Do you go to university?This sentence is useful for asking if someone attends the form 大学.Tatoeba #9796715 by bunbuku, translation #10564243 by sundown
- 私は東京大学に通っています。I attend the University of Tokyo.
- 彼は一流の大学で教授として働いています。He works as a professor at a prestigious university.
- 彼は大学で友達に会った。He met his friend at university.
- どこの大学に進学するつもりですか？Which university are you planning to attend?
- 171 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their future plans.
- 大翔 Hirotoどの大学に行きたい？Dono daigaku ni ikitai?Which university do you want to go to?
- 陽葵 Himariまだ迷ってるんだ。Mada mayotteru nda.I'm still undecided.
- 大翔 Hirotoいい大学がたくさんあるよ。Ii daigaku ga takusan aru yo.There are many good universities.
- 陽葵 Himariそうだね。もっと調べてみるよ。Sō da ne. Motto shirabete miru yo.You're right. I'll look into it more.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “university” translations and entries 大学, 大学校, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
