Meaning of 小学
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- elementary school; primary school
How to use 小学
小学 is the everyday word for primary school, usually grades one to six in China. It often appears with 上 (shàng) to mean attending school. Example: 我弟弟上小学。(Wǒ dìdi shàng xiǎoxué.) My younger brother is in primary school.
小 (xiǎo) means small and 学 (xué) means study, so 小学 is the place where small children study. Compare it with 大学 (dàxué), the big study, which is university.
Common mistake: Learners often say 去小学 to mean being a pupil, but 去小学 just means going to the building. To say someone attends primary school, use 上小学 (shàng xiǎoxué) or 在上小学.
小学 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
小 xiǎo · small · 3 strokes
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学 xué · to learn · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 小学.
| 小姐 | xiǎojiě | young lady; miss |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour |
| 学校 | xuéxiào | school |
| 学生 | xuéshēng | student; schoolchild |
| 大学 | dàxué | university; college |
| 学习 | xuéxí | to learn; to study |
| 同学 | tóngxué | to study at the same school; fellow student |
| 上学 | shàngxué | to go to school; to attend school |
| 学院 | xuéyuàn | college; educational institute |
| 小朋友 | xiǎopéngyǒu | child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to |
| 中学 | zhōngxué | middle school |
| 放学 | fàngxué | to dismiss students at the end of the school day |
Questions about 小学
What does 小学 mean?
小学 (xiǎoxué) means "elementary school; primary school" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 小学?
小学 is made of 2 characters: 小 (3 strokes), 学 (8 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 小学 an HSK word?
Yes. 小学 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 小学 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 小学 is written 小學.
How do you say primary school student in Chinese?
Say 小学生 (xiǎoxuéshēng), which adds 生 (shēng) from 学生 (xuéshēng). For example, 她是小学生。(Tā shì xiǎoxuéshēng.) She is a primary school student.
What comes after 小学 in the Chinese school system?
After 小学 comes 中学 (zhōngxué), middle school, which splits into 初中 (chūzhōng) and 高中 (gāozhōng). After that comes 大学 (dàxué), university.