幼よう稚ち園えん

よ

う

ち

え

ん

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

In Japan, non-compulsory education for children from age 3 until primary school. Often translated as 'kindergarten' or 'preschool'.

〈人ひと〉が幼よう稚ち園えんに通かようfor someone to attend kindergarten
娘むすめは毎まい日にち幼よう稚ち園えんに通かよっている。
My daughter goes to kindergarten every day.
幼よう稚ち園えんに入はいるto start (enroll in) kindergarten
息子むすこは来らい年ねん幼よう稚ち園えんに入はいる。
My son will start kindergarten next year.
幼よう稚ち園えんを卒そつ園えんするto graduate from kindergarten
来らい月げつ、幼よう稚ち園えんを卒そつ園えんする予よ定ていです。
I'm scheduled to graduate from kindergarten next month.

保ほ育いく園えんN1
幼稚園 is an educational institution for children aged 3–6 focused on early schooling, while 保育園 is a daycare center that cares for children from infancy while parents work.
園えんN2
幼稚園 is the full word for kindergarten, while 園 is its common short form used casually.
託たく児じ所しょN2
幼稚園 is a kindergarten focused on early education for young children, while 託児所 is mainly about supervising children rather than teaching them.

幼よう稚ちN2
幼稚園 is the noun for 'kindergarten', while 幼稚 (written with the same first two kanji) is an adjective meaning 'childish' or 'infantile'.
保ほ育いく所しょN2
幼稚園 is a kindergarten focused on early education for children aged 3–5, while 保育所 is a day care facility that cares for infants through preschoolers, mainly for working parents.
小しょう学がっ校こうN5
小学校 begins compulsory education for children around age six, whereas 幼稚園 is the pre-school kindergarten stage before that, and beginners sometimes confuse the two levels.

Compound of 幼稚 (ようち, 'infancy; early childhood') + 園 (えん, 'garden; park'), modeled after German 'Kindergarten'.