1.
extracurricular; outside of class; after-hours
Activities, study, or events that take place outside of regular class hours or the standard curriculum.
課外活動に参加する。
To participate in extracurricular activities.
放課後に課外授業がある。
There is an extracurricular class after school.
課外の学習を通して、生徒たちは社会経験を積んでいる。
Through extracurricular learning, the students are gaining social experience.
Almost always used as a modifier before another noun, functioning like a prefix meaning "outside the regular curriculum." Composed of 課 (lesson/curriculum) + 外 (outside). Rarely used as a standalone noun.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 課外活動: extracurricular activities
- 課外授業: extracurricular lessons; supplementary classes
- 課外学習: extracurricular learning/study
- 課外講座: extracurricular course
- 課外研究: extracurricular research
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 部活: club activities — the most common term for after-school club activities at Japanese schools
- 放課後: after school — refers to the time period after classes end, not the activities themselves
- 校外: off-campus; outside school — refers to physical location outside the school grounds, while 課外 refers to being outside the curriculum