How to say "education" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 教育きょういくnoun, suru verb, transitive verbThe general, all-purpose word for education: teaching, schooling and instruction of children or adults, and education as a social institution. When English 'education' needs no special nuance, this is the word.
- 養成ようせいnoun, suru verb, transitive verbEducation and training in the sense of developing people for a particular role or profession — building up personnel with needed skills. Not the word for education as general schooling.
- 教養きょうようnounEducation as personal cultivation: the culture, knowledge and refinement a person has acquired, as in calling someone well educated or a person of education. Not the process of schooling or the education system.
- 仕込みしこみnoun, noun (suffix)Really denotes training or upbringing — the grounding someone is given in a skill, or how they were brought up. Seldom the word you want for 'education' itself; it fits only that training sense.
- 文教ぶんきょうnounPairs education with culture, treating the two as one idea; it is seldom the word you want for plain 'education'. Reach for it when education and culture are being discussed together.
Use 教育 for education in general — teaching, schooling and instruction; 養成 for training people up for a role; 教養 for education as personal cultivation; 「仕込み」 for practical training or upbringing; and 文教 when education and culture are meant together.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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