教習
きょうしゅう
noun, verb-suru
training; instruction (esp. driving school)
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 教習する | 教習しない |
| Present polite | 教習します | 教習しません |
| Past | 教習した | 教習しなかった |
| Past polite | 教習しました | 教習しませんでした |
| て form | 教習して | 教習しなくて |
| ている present | 教習している | 教習していない |
| ている polite | 教習しています | 教習していません |
| ている past | 教習していた | 教習していなかった |
| ている past polite | 教習していました | 教習していませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 教習すれば | 教習しなければ |
| Conditional たら | 教習したら | 教習しなかったら |
| Volitional | 教習しよう | — |
| Volitional polite | 教習しましょう | — |
| Potential | 教習できる | 教習できない |
| Passive | 教習される | 教習されない |
| Causative | 教習させる | 教習させない |
| Imperative | 教習しろ | 教習するな |
1.
training; instruction (especially for skills like driving)
Formal instruction or training, most strongly associated in modern Japanese with driving schools (自動車教習所). Combines 教 ("teach") with 習 ("learn, practice"). Although it can in principle apply to any structured training, in everyday speech it almost always evokes driving instruction unless context specifies otherwise.
今日は初めての教習だ。
Today is my first driving lesson.
兄は自動車教習所に通っている。
My older brother is attending driving school.
路上教習の前に、教官が注意事項を説明してくれた。
Before the on-road lesson, the instructor explained the points to watch out for.
仕事が忙しい時期に教習を始めたので、卒業するまでに半年もかかった。
I started lessons during a busy stretch at work, so it took half a year to graduate from driving school.
教習 is a formal noun referring to structured instruction or training. In modern usage, the word is most strongly associated with driving instruction — to the point that 教習, 教習所, and 教習生 are heard mainly in driving-school contexts.
FORMATION:
- 教 ("teach") + 習 ("learn, practice") → 教習
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 教習所: training school, especially driving school
- 自動車教習所: driving school
- 教習を受ける: to take a lesson, to undergo training
- 教習に通う: to attend lessons (regularly)
- 路上教習: on-the-road driving lesson
- 仮免教習: instruction with a learner's permit
- 教習生: a student (at a driving school)
- 教習車: a driving-school car (marked with a green-and-yellow shoshinsha sign)
SIMILAR / RELATED TERMS:
- 教育: education (broad term covering schooling and upbringing)
- 訓練: training (often physical or skills-based; military, emergency drills, sports)
- 研修: professional training (used by companies and government bodies)
- 講習: short course or seminar (often a one-off or short series)
- 指導: guidance, instruction (focuses on the act of guiding rather than the program)
USAGE NOTES:
- Japan has a strong driving-school culture: most learners enroll in a 自動車教習所, complete classroom lectures and on-road lessons, and "graduate" before taking the licensing exam. Because of this, 教習 alone often means "driving instruction" in casual speech.
- For non-driving training, 訓練, 研修, or 講習 are usually more natural. For instance, a company workshop is a 研修, not a 教習.
- Note the homophone 郷愁 ("nostalgia") — same reading, completely different kanji and meaning.