Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 が 大だい 学がく に 進しん 学がく する for someone to go on to university
He went on to attend a university in Tokyo.
大だい 学がく で 〈 事こと 〉 を 専せん 攻こう する to major in something at university
She is majoring in economics at university.
大だい 学がく に 通かよ う to attend university (regularly)
My younger brother commutes to university by train every day.
Expressions 大だい 学がく に 受う かる pass a university entrance exam; get into a university Kanji 学 study, learning, science 學 learning, knowledge, school Related words· 6 大学 is the everyday word for a university, while 学府 is a formal, literary term for an institution of higher learning, often used in set phrases like 最高学府 .
大学 refers to the university as an institution, while キャンパス refers specifically to its physical grounds and facilities.
大学 is a university granting academic degrees, while 専門学校 focuses on practical, career-oriented training.
大学 is the general word for university, while アカデミー often implies a smaller, more specialized or prestigious institution such as a film or military academy.
Show 2 more Show fewer 大学 is the general Japanese word for university, while カレッジ specifically evokes Western-style colleges, often smaller or specialized, and appears mainly in institution names.
大学 refers to a degree-granting university, whereas 学院 usually denotes a smaller or specialized academy, sometimes a division within a larger institution.
Don't confuse with 大学 is a four-year university, while 短期大学 is a shorter two- or three-year program often with vocational focus.
大学 is a four-year (or longer) university, whereas 短大 is a shorter two- or three-year junior college, so learners often mix up which one a graduate attended.
大学 refers to the university as a whole, whereas 大学院 specifically means its graduate division.
Word family· 76 university student; college student
graduate school
graduate student; postgraduate student
junior college; two-year college
Open University of Japan; broadcast university courses
Show 12 more Show fewer comprehensive university; multi-faculty university
university graduate; college graduate
national university
private university
Grand Academician; position at the ancient Chinese imperial court
government-affiliated educational institution
great scholar; savant; polymath
candied sweet potato
your esteemed university; your honorable university
top university; leading university; first-rate university
public university
medical university; medical college; medical school
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Written forms 大だい 学がく Usage 100%
Standard modern kanji form.
大だい 學がく Usage <1%
out-dated kanji form
Kyūjitai form; rarely used today except in historical contexts or proper names.
Etymology A Sino-Japanese reading of Chinese 大學 “great learning,” also the title of a Confucian classic. In Japan it designated institutions of higher learning from the ancient 律令 system onward and was applied to the modern university in the nineteenth century.
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