校 — School, Institution

Meaning

The kanji 校 primarily means school or educational institution. Japanese children encounter it in Grade 1 — among the very first kanji they learn to write. That makes sense: 学校 is one of the most central words in any child's daily life.

A secondary meaning is proofreading or comparing written text. At first glance, "school" and "proofreading" seem unrelated. Look closer, though: both involve careful checking and correction. A student reviews their homework; an editor scrutinizes a manuscript. The same habit of mind runs through both.

Structurally, 校 splits into two parts. Left: 木 (ki), "tree" or "wood." Right: 交 (kou), "to intersect" or "to exchange." In ancient China, wooden tablets were the standard medium for writing and instruction — the wood element nods to those physical tools. The 交 component suggests knowledge passing between teacher and student. Together they point to a place where people gather to exchange ideas around written material. The kanji has 10 strokes and sits in the Kyōiku Kanji (教育漢字) Grade 1 list.

In Vietnamese, the Sino-Vietnamese reading is HIỆU. It appears in hiệu trưởng (校長) — school principal — the same compound that exists in Japanese as こうちょう. This shared vocabulary is a product of centuries of Chinese character use across East and Southeast Asia.

Readings

On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings

The on'yomi is コウ. Just one reading, which keeps things simple. In everyday Japanese, 校 almost always appears inside compound words (熟語), and in those compounds it is read as コウ without exception. Key compounds:

学校がっこう (gakkou) — school; the core word you'll use daily
高校こうこう (koukou) — high school; casual shortening of 高等学校
校長こうちょう (kouchou) — school principal
登校とうこう (toukou) — going to school
校正こうせい (kousei) — proofreading

Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings

There is no kun'yomi for 校. When this kanji arrived from Chinese, Japanese had no native word for "formal school" that would generate one. Speakers adopted the compound 学校がっこう directly and never developed a kun'yomi alternative.

That absence is actually good news: one reading, コウ, covers everything.

Common Words & Compounds

Most 校 compounds center on school life — buildings, people, and daily routines. A smaller cluster covers proofreading and editorial work.

Types of Schools

学校がっこう (gakkou) — school (general term)
小学校しょうがっこう (shougakkou) — elementary school (grades 1–6)
中学校ちゅうがっこう (chuugakkou) — middle school (grades 7–9)
高校こうこう (koukou) — high school (casual)
高等学校こうとうがっこう (koutou gakkou) — senior high school (formal)
母校ぼこう (bokou) — alma mater

People at School

校長こうちょう (kouchou) — school principal
転校生てんこうせい (tenkousei) — transfer student

School Facilities & Objects

校舎こうしゃ (kousha) — school building
校庭こうてい (koutei) — schoolyard
校門こうもん (koumon) — school gate
校則こうそく (kousoku) — school rules
校歌こうか (kouka) — school song

Actions Related to School

登校とうこう (toukou) — going to school, arriving at school
下校げこう (gekou) — leaving school for home
転校てんこう (tenkou) — transferring to another school
休校きゅうこう (kyuukou) — school closure

Proofreading & Editing

校正こうせい (kousei) — proofreading, typesetting correction
校閲こうえつ (kouetsu) — editorial review, checking a manuscript for accuracy

Example Sentences

わたしの学校がっこうは大おおきいです。

Watashi no gakkou wa ookii desu.

My school is big.

あなたの学校がっこうはどこですか？

Anata no gakkou wa doko desu ka?

Where is your school?

まいにち学校がっこうに行いきます。

Mainichi gakkou ni ikimasu.

I go to school every day.

校長先生こうちょうせんせいはとてもやさしいです。

Kouchou sensei wa totemo yasashii desu.

The principal is very kind.

彼女かのじょは小学校しょうがっこうの先生せんせいです。

Kanojo wa shougakkou no sensei desu.

She is an elementary school teacher.

学校がっこうのあとで、友達ともだちとあそびました。

Gakkou no ato de, tomodachi to asobimashita.

After school, I played with my friends.

弟おとうとは来年らいねん高校こうこうに入はいります。

Otouto wa rainen koukou ni hairimasu.

My younger brother will enter high school next year.

校庭こうていで子こどもたちが走はしっています。

Koutei de kodomotachi ga hashitte imasu.

Children are running in the schoolyard.

あの学校がっこうは私わたしの母校ぼこうです。

Ano gakkou wa watashi no bokou desu.

That school is my alma mater.

転校てんこうして、あたらしい学校がっこうに慣なれるのに時間じかんがかかりました。

Tenkou shite, atarashii gakkou ni nareru no ni jikan ga kakarimashita.

After transferring, it took time to get used to the new school.

Related Kanji

Memory Tip

Picture a tall wooden flagpole (木) rising from a school courtyard. Every morning, students' paths cross (交) around that pole as they stream through the gate. Wood plus crossing paths equals the place where everyone gathers: 木 + 交 = 校 = school.

Vietnamese speakers get a bonus anchor: HIỆU maps directly to hiệu trưởng (principal), locking in the meaning from another angle. Once 学校がっこう sticks, the rest of the 校 compounds fall into place on their own.