級
Meanings
school grade; school year; class
School-related use for a grade/year or class. Often seen in compounds or formal labels such as 同級 or 各級; everyday speech may use 学年 or クラス depending on context.
He and I were in the same grade at elementary school.
At this school, each class has one homeroom teacher.
Used as a noun or suffix to mark class, quality, rank, or skill level in a grading system. Common in compounds such as 初級, 上級, 高級, and A級.
This problem is a little difficult for beginner-level learners.
She advanced to the upper-level class.
kyu rank; junior rank
Domain-specific ranking term used in martial arts, go, shogi, and similar systems. It is counted with numbers, and in many systems 級 ranks are below 段 ranks.
See also: 段
He earned first kyu in karate.
I moved up from second kyu to first kyu in shogi.
Usage patterns
- 〈数〉級the nth kyu rank (used in martial arts, go, shogi, etc.)
I earned third kyu in judo.
- 〈物〉級on the level of ~; -class
His performance is professional-level.
- 級が上がるto advance a kyu rank
I kept practicing and moved up a rank.