Meaning
学校 is the general term for any educational institution where students receive formal instruction, from elementary schools to universities. It's one of the most fundamental vocabulary words in Chinese and is used in everyday conversation whenever discussing education or academic settings.
Usage
学校 is a neutral, standard term used in all contexts. Native speakers use it with specific modifiers to indicate different types of schools (小学校 for elementary school, 中学校 for middle/high school). It commonly appears with verbs like 上 (to attend), 去 (to go to), and 毕业 (to graduate from).
Examples
- 01我每天早上八点去学校。.I go to school at 8 o'clock every morning.
- 02这所学校有两千多个学生。.This school has over two thousand students.
Characters
Measure words
- 所一所学校
- 个一个学校
Common collocations
- 上学校to attend school
- 小学校elementary school
- 在学校at school
- 学校生活school life
Origin
The word combines 学 (study/learning) with 校 (originally meaning 'to check/verify', later extended to mean a place of instruction). Together they form the compound meaning 'place of learning.'