School in Chinese
The Chinese word for "school" is 学校 (xué xiào). Below are 80 Chinese words for school, each with pinyin, English and its level in the new HSK 3.0 word list. They cover HSK 1 to HSK 7-9, in the order a learner meets them.
School, Work and Study HSK 1 lesson
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 老师 | lǎo shī | teacher | 1 |
| 学生 | xué sheng | student | 1 |
| 医生 | yī shēng | doctor | 1 |
| 先生 | xiān sheng | Mr.; sir; gentleman | 1 |
| 小姐 | xiǎo jie | young lady | 5 |
| 汉语 | Hàn yǔ | Chinese language | 1 |
| 学习 | xué xí | to learn | 1 |
| 学校 | xué xiào | school | 1 |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work | 1 |
School Words HSK 1 lesson
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 上学 | shàng xué | to go to school; to attend school | 1 |
| 上课 | shàng kè | to have class; class starts | 1 |
| 下课 | xià kè | class ends; to finish class | 1 |
| 读书 | dú shū | to read (books); to study, be in school | 1 |
| 汉字 | hàn zì | Chinese character | 1 |
| 小学 | xiǎo xué | primary school | 1 |
| 小学生 | xiǎo xué sheng | primary school pupil | 1 |
| 中学 | zhōng xué | middle school; secondary school | 1 |
| 中学生 | zhōng xué sheng | middle school student | 1 |
| 大学 | dà xué | university; college | 1 |
| 大学生 | dà xué sheng | university student | 1 |
School and Work HSK 2 lesson
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 课 | kè | class; lesson; subject | 1 |
| 考试 | kǎo shì | to take an exam; exam | 2 |
| 题 | tí | topic; question (exam); subject | 2 |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; business | 2 |
| 姓 | xìng | family name; surname | 2 |
| 您 | nín | you (courteous) | 1 |
| 它 | tā | it | 1 |
| 准备 | zhǔn bèi | to prepare; preparation | 2 |
| 吧 | ba | sentence-final particle (suggestion or supposition) | 1 |
School, Study & Language HSK 3 lesson
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 成绩 | chéng jì | grade; score; achievement | 3 |
| 复习 | fù xí | to review | 3 |
| 练习 | liàn xí | to practice | 3 |
| 词语 | cí yǔ | word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases) | 4 |
| 句子 | jù zi | sentence | 3 |
| 字典 | zì diǎn | Chinese character dictionary | 3 |
| 黑板 | hēi bǎn | blackboard | 3 |
| 铅笔 | qiān bǐ | (lead) pencil | 3 |
| 年级 | nián jí | grade | 3 |
| 数学 | shù xué | mathematics | 3 |
| 普通话 | pǔ tōng huà | Mandarin (common language) | 4 |
| 作业 | zuò yè | school assignment | 3 |
School Life HSK 3 lesson
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 男生 | nán shēng | male student; boy | 3 |
| 女生 | nǚ shēng | female student; girl | 3 |
| 放学 | fàng xué | school lets out; to finish school for the day | 3 |
| 课本 | kè běn | textbook | 3 |
| 课文 | kè wén | a text in a textbook | 3 |
| 笔记 | bǐ jì | notes | 3 |
| 外语 | wài yǔ | foreign language | 3 |
| 留学生 | liú xué shēng | international student | 3 |
| 初中 | chū zhōng | junior high; middle school | 3 |
| 班级 | bān jí | class (a group of students) | 3 |
| 校园 | xiào yuán | campus; school grounds | 3 |
| 难题 | nán tí | hard question; tough problem | 3 |
| 得分 | dé fēn | to score; score | 3 |
Academic study & education HSK 4 lesson
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 专业 | zhuān yè | specialty | 4 |
| 教育 | jiào yù | to educate | 4 |
| 知识 | zhī shi | knowledge | 4 |
| 基础 | jī chǔ | base; foundation; basis | 4 |
| 预习 | yù xí | to prepare a lesson | 4 |
| 研究生 | yán jiū shēng | graduate student | 4 |
| 留学 | liú xué | to study abroad | 3 |
| 毕业 | bì yè | graduation | 4 |
| 数字 | shù zì | numeral | 4 |
| 数量 | shù liàng | amount | 4 |
| 科学 | kē xué | science | 4 |
| 博士 | bó shì | doctor | 4 |
| 答案 | dá àn | answer | 4 |
| 试 | shì | to test | 3 |
| 硕士 | shuò shì | master's degree | 4 |
School, Education & Training HSK 5 lesson
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 班主任 | bān zhǔ rèn | homeroom/head teacher | – |
| 本科 | běn kē | undergraduate program | 4 |
| 操场 | cāo chǎng | playground, sports field | 4 |
| 测验 | cè yàn | test, quiz | 7-9 |
| 初级 | chū jí | junior, beginner level | 5 |
| 辅导 | fǔ dǎo | to tutor, give guidance | 6 |
| 及格 | jí gé | to pass (a test/exam) | 5 |
| 教材 | jiào cái | teaching material, textbook | 5 |
| 教练 | jiào liàn | coach, instructor | 4 |
| 教训 | jiào xun | a lesson (learned from a mistake) | 6 |
| 课程 | kè chéng | course, curriculum | 4 |
Every word links to its dictionary entry, with audio, example sentences and stroke order. The words are grouped by the GraphChinese lesson that teaches them, so a few in each group belong to the lesson and sit a little outside the topic.
More topics:
- family
- food
- numbers
- colors
- body parts
- emotions and feelings
- weather
- clothes
- health and illness
- time words
- places
- transport and travel
- jobs and work
- sports and hobbies
- nature and animals
- shopping and money
- directions
- greetings and everyday phrases
- pronouns
- measure words
- house and home
- everyday verbs
- personality
- technology
- business
- conjunctions
- entertainment and the arts
- festivals and holidays
- communication
- All topics
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "school" in Chinese?
学校 (xué xiào), meaning "school". The most common words in this topic are 老师 (lǎo shī, teacher), 学生 (xué sheng, student), 医生 (yī shēng, doctor), 先生 (xiān sheng, Mr.).
How many Chinese words for school do I need?
This page lists 80, from HSK 1 to HSK 7-9. The 9 at the top are enough to start; the rest follow level by level.
What do the HSK levels on this page mean?
Each word shows where the new HSK 3.0 word list places it, from level 1 to the 7-9 band. A dash means the word is taught in the course and is not on the HSK 3.0 list. HSK 3.0, complete.
How do I pronounce these words?
The pinyin beside each word gives the sound and the tone. Each word links to its dictionary entry, where you can hear it. If the tone marks are new to you, start with the four tones, explained.
GraphChinese teaches these words in dependency order, with audio, and only moves on when each one is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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