Skip to content
Kotomora

塾

cram school, private school

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes14

Readings

On'yomi

  • ジュク

Kun'yomi

—

Meaning

塾 centers on a place of focused study outside regular school: a cram school or private academy where students receive extra instruction.

Most common words using 塾

20 of 25
  • 塾じゅく
    N2

    cram school; private tutoring school; juku

  • 慶應義塾けいおうぎじゅく

    Keio (Private University)

  • 塾生じゅくせい

    cram school student; student of a private-tutoring school

  • 塾長じゅくちょう

    principal of a private school

  • 入塾にゅうじゅく

    enrolling at a cram school

  • 慶應義塾大学けいおうぎじゅくだいがく

    Keio University

  • 私塾しじゅく

    small private school (esp. for cramming)

  • 塾弁じゅくべん

    lunch box brought to cram school; cram school lunch box

  • 塾舎じゅくしゃ

    cram school building

  • 塾講じゅくこう

    cram school teacher; teaching at a cram school

  • 塾講師じゅくこうし

    cram school teacher

  • 塾通いじゅくがよい

    attending cram school

  • 塾頭じゅくとう

    principal of a cram school

  • 学習塾がくしゅうじゅく

    cram school; private tutoring school

  • 家塾かじゅく

    government-backed school operated by a scholar out of his home

  • 慶應義塾大学産業研究所けいおうぎじゅくだいがくさんぎょうけんきゅうじょ

    Keio Economic Observatory; KEO

  • 松下政経塾まつしたせいけいじゅく

    The Matsushita Institute of Government and Management

  • 津田塾大学つだじゅくだいがく

    Tsuda College

  • 画塾がじゅく

    private painting school

  • 義塾ぎじゅく

    charity school; charitable school

Explore all words using 塾 →

Study

Etymology

塾 combines 孰 (which historically relates to thoroughness or ripening) with 土 (earth/ground), suggesting a grounded place for thorough learning. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the phono-semantic structure is plausible.

Meaning mnemonic

The top 孰 looks like a person diligently studying, and the bottom 土 is the ground. Picture a student sitting on the ground at a private cram school, studying hard.

Reading mnemonic

For ジュク, imagine a student at a cram school drinking a juku-juice (a made-up drink name) to stay awake: juku -> ジュク, and the juice fuels the late-night study session.