同級生(どうきゅうせい)

同級生(どうきゅうせい) combines 同(どう) (same) + 級(きゅう) (grade) + 生(せい) (student).

Usage

• Refers to someone in the same school year, normally at the same school. The relationship keeps this name long after graduation, so 高校(こうこう)の同級生(どうきゅうせい) works equally well for a classmate you saw yesterday and one you last saw thirty years ago.
• It marks equal standing. Unlike 先輩(せんぱい) and 後輩(こうはい), which encode who is senior, 同級生(どうきゅうせい) implies no ranking, and speech between 同級生(どうきゅうせい) is normally plain and casual.
• Used of other people far more than of oneself. To say who your own classmate is, the natural pattern is 彼(かれ)は同級生(どうきゅうせい)です, not a self-description.

Similar words

• 同級生(どうきゅうせい): classmate in the sense of same 学年(がくねん) (grade level); the two need not share a homeroom
• クラスメート: classmate in the narrower sense of same クラス; a loanword, lighter and more school-bound
• 同期(どうき): the workplace equivalent — someone who joined the company in the same year
• 先輩(せんぱい): upperclassman
• 後輩(こうはい): underclassman

Common patterns

• 小学校(しょうがっこう)の同級生(どうきゅうせい) (elementary school classmate)
• 同級生(どうきゅうせい)と再会(さいかい)する (reunite with classmates)