55 Japanese Words for School, Part-Time Jobs and the Office (With Real Usage)

💡 The partner word of senpai. It depends on who joined the school, club, or company first, not only on age. Seniors often look after their kohai, and kohai are expected to show some respect in return.

💡 The teacher in charge of a class for the year. In Japan they often handle more than lessons, like student guidance and talks with parents.

💡 The time after classes end, when students go to club activities, cram school, or hang out. It shows up a lot in anime and school dramas.

💡 Students run food stands, plays, concerts, and exhibitions, and many schools open the event to families and the public. Names and styles vary; some schools call it gakuensai.

💡 A school-wide day of races, relays, and group events, with families watching. Elementary schools usually say undokai, and many junior and senior high schools say taiikusai.

💡 An overnight trip for a whole grade, often in the last year of elementary, junior high, or senior high school. The groups of students in uniform you see at famous temples are often on one.

💡 Many schools and universities choose students by entrance exam, so juken is a big life event. A student preparing for exams is a jukensei.

💡 Private schools students attend after regular school, often to prepare for exams or keep up with classes. How much students go varies widely by family and area.

💡 Short for mogi shiken. Students take them to see where they stand before real entrance exams. Don't confuse it with moshi moshi on the phone.

💡 Literally "red mark," because failing scores were traditionally marked in red. The passing line depends on the school, and students who get one may have to take a makeup test.

💡 Literally "one-night pickling," like vegetables pickled quickly overnight. It's used for any last-minute preparation, not only for tests.

💡 Many schools have set exam periods each term, and club practice often stops during them so students can study. "I didn't study at all" is a classic thing to say before a test, true or not.

💡 Summer vacation homework is famous in Japan, and many people remember rushing to finish it at the end of August. It is also used at work for a task to think about before the next meeting.

💡 Most junior and senior high schools have uniforms, and many students care about how theirs looks. Rules on skirt length, hair, and accessories differ from school to school.

💡 Students change into these at the entrance so outside dirt stays out of the building. Some regions call them uwagutsu. Many families wash them at home on weekends.

💡 Many elementary and junior high schools serve lunch that students eat together in the classroom, often serving it to each other in turns. Adults love talking about their favorite kyushoku menu.

💡 Students take turns doing small jobs like calling "stand up, bow" at the start of class, cleaning the board, and writing the class diary. Details vary by school.

💡 Classes switch seats every so often, sometimes by lottery. Students get surprisingly excited about it, since it decides who they sit next to.

💡 At many schools, students clean their classrooms, hallways, and restrooms themselves instead of relying only on janitors. Visitors are often surprised by it.

💡 Used at both school and work. Train companies can issue a delay certificate (chien shomeisho), which some schools and companies accept as a reason for being late.

💡 The Japanese school year ends in March, so graduation ceremonies happen then. The word is also used when an idol leaves a group, or jokingly when you quit a habit.

💡 University students usually say sakuru for relaxed, student-run clubs and bukatsu for more serious, competitive ones. The line between them depends on the university.

💡 Students need a set number to graduate. Tan'i o otosu means failing to get credit for a course, a phrase university students say with real fear.

💡 In Japanese you "enter" a shift (shifuto ni hairu). Many part-time jobs ask you to submit the days you can work ahead of time.

💡 Staff usually call the manager "tencho" directly instead of using their name. Job titles are often used this way in Japan, like shacho (company president) and bucho (department head).

💡 Restaurants often feed staff before or after a shift, sometimes with dishes not on the menu. Good makanai is a real reason people choose a part-time job.

💡 Students often receive offers months before graduation, then start work in April. A person with an offer is a naiteisha, and many companies hold a small ceremony for them in the fall.

💡 Many Japanese companies hire a large group of new graduates at once, who then start together in April. People hired later from other jobs are called chuto (mid-career).

💡 Many companies train their new graduates together for weeks or months, covering business manners as well as the job itself. Length and style vary a lot by company.

💡 Long hours have been a well-known issue in Japan, and there are now legal limits on overtime. How much people work late still differs a lot by company and job.

💡 Teiji de kaeru means going home right when the workday ends. Some people used to feel awkward leaving before their boss, but attitudes have been changing.

💡 A group dinner with drinks, usually at an izakaya. You don't have to drink alcohol; ordering oolong tea or a soft drink is normal. Some people love them and some find them tiring.

💡 Workplaces and clubs often hold these in spring, when people join, move, or leave. At a sobetsukai, the person leaving may get flowers and give a short speech.

💡 Literally "forget-the-year party," held in December with coworkers or friends. A party in January is a shinnenkai (New Year party).

💡 Joshi is anyone above you at work, not only your direct manager. The example sentence is also a common polite way to avoid deciding on the spot.

💡 Because many companies hire new graduates together, doki go through training at the same time and often stay friends for years, even after moving to different departments.

💡 Short for hokoku (report), renraku (contact), and sodan (consult). It's a pun, because horenso also means spinach. New employees hear it constantly.

💡 Exchanging cards is still a common first step in business meetings. People usually offer and receive them with both hands and look at the card before putting it away.

💡 The set of polite forms used with customers, bosses, and strangers. Even native speakers find it hard, and many first learn it properly at a part-time job or in new-employee training. Learners are usually forgiven for small mistakes.

💡 A polite way to say "got it" to bosses and customers. Ryokai desu is common between coworkers, but some people feel it's too casual for superiors, so shochi shimashita is the safer choice.

💡 A soft way to ask for something without pressure. It politely suggests "no rush," but in practice the request still needs to be done, so don't forget about it.

💡 Used for working meetings to plan or check details, often small. Kaigi sounds more formal, like a scheduled conference or official meeting.

💡 Used for work, school assignments, and applications. Shimekiri mae (right before the deadline) is a phrase full of stress for students and writers alike.

💡 Short for zaitaku kinmu. Remote work spread widely in the early 2020s, and many companies now mix office and home days. Rimoto (remote) is also common.

💡 In big cities most people commute by train. Many companies pay for commuting costs, often by covering a train pass. For students, the word is tsugaku.

💡 Rush-hour trains in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka can be extremely crowded. People stay quiet, hold bags in front, and avoid phone calls. Some lines have women-only cars at certain times.

💡 Short for hana no kin'yobi (flowery Friday), the joy of Friday night before the weekend. It is an older expression, and some younger people find it a little dated but still use it as a joke.

💡 Named after Sazae-san, a long-running family anime that airs on Sunday evenings. When its theme song plays, many people realize the weekend is almost over. It's a joke, not a medical term.

💡 Used for employers known for very long hours, unpaid overtime, or harsh treatment. It is a critical label, so be careful about applying it to a specific company in public. Burakku baito is the part-time job version.

💡 Combines sha (company) and chiku (livestock). People mostly use it about themselves as dark humor. Calling someone else shachiku can be insulting, and it is never used in formal settings.

💡 At many Japanese companies, employees are moved between departments every few years so they learn different parts of the business. Big changes are often announced in spring.

💡 At some large companies, employees may be moved to another city by company decision. Tenkinzoku is a word for families who move often because of it.

💡 When a worker is transferred, the rest of the family sometimes stays behind because of children's schools or housing. It has no simple English word, so explain it as a situation.

💡 Many companies pay bonuses in summer and winter, but it depends on the company and is not guaranteed. The formal word is shoyo.

💡 A short start-of-day gathering at schools, shops, factories, and some offices, for announcements and greetings. Not every workplace has one.