Translation guide
Truancy refers to the act of staying away from school without permission. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through specific terms for the act itself, the person who does it, and related behaviors like skipping individual classes.
To describe the general act of being absent from school without a valid reason.
The most common and neutral term for school non-attendance, often used in educational and social contexts. It can refer to long-term absence due to various reasons, not necessarily rebellious.
He ended up becoming truant.
The number of truant students is increasing.
Literally 'neglecting studies', this term emphasizes laziness or lack of motivation as the cause. It is less common than 不登校 and can sound more judgmental.
Truancy leads to a decline in academic ability.
Literally 'school refusal', this term is used when the absence stems from psychological reasons like anxiety or phobia. It is more clinical and less commonly used in everyday conversation.
Support is needed for children with school refusal.
To refer to a student who habitually skips school.
To describe the act of skipping a specific class or school day for fun, not necessarily long-term absence.
A very common casual phrase meaning 'to skip school' or 'to play hooky'. サボる comes from 'sabotage' and is used for skipping any obligation.
Yesterday I skipped school and went to see a movie.
Specifically skipping a class or classes. More precise than 学校をサボる when you only miss certain lessons.
A colloquial noun meaning 'playing hooky' or 'skipping without a good reason'. It implies a sneaky or lazy absence.
A dated slang term from English 'escape', used for skipping school or class. Mostly used by older generations or in fiction.
不登校 (futōkō) is a formal, often long-term condition of not attending school, possibly due to psychological or social reasons. サボる (saboru) is casual and refers to intentionally skipping school or class for fun or convenience, usually short-term. Use 不登校 in serious or official contexts, and サボる in everyday conversation about playing hooky.
There is no single Japanese word that covers all nuances of 'truancy'. Translating directly as 'truancy' in a legal or educational context may require 不登校, but in casual speech, phrases like 学校をサボる are more natural. Using 怠学 may sound overly harsh or old-fashioned.
The truant students were made to take supplementary lessons after school.
I skipped math class and was sleeping on the rooftop.
彼はよくずる休みをする。
He often plays hooky.
Back in high school, I used to skip school a lot.