Japanese mini lessons: Words you hear in Japanese Nursery
Japanese mini lessons: Words you hear in Japanese Nursery
Every industry has its own grocery list of special terms, and 保育園（ほいくえん hoikuen, nursery school) life is the same! In Japan, many children start nursery school in April, and their parents are probably busy getting everything ready right now! Today, we want to show some words we often use in Japanese nursery schools.
Items and Essentials
お布団 （おふとん Ofuton）: Futon for kids’ nap time
お名前シール（おなまえしーる Onamae Shiiru）：Name stickers (to lable kids’ belongings)
お着替え（おきがえ Okigae）：Change of clothes
先生（せんせい Sensei）：Teacher, in other countries you might not call your nursery school teacher “teacher,” but in Japan, we always call them 先生 せんせい Sensei.）
Daily Routine and Activities
登園（とうえん Tooen）：Going to nursery
慣らし保育（ならしほいく Narashi hoiku）：Gradual introducion to nursery for new kids
園庭（えんてい Entei）：Playground (specifically at hoikuen)
お昼寝（おひるね Ohirune）：Nap time
おやつ (Oyatsu)：Snack time
お片付け（おかたづけ Okatazuke）：Tidying up
読み聞かせ（よみきかせ Yomikikase）：Story time
制作（せいさく Seisaku）：Crafting/Arts and Craft
トイトレ（といとれ Toitore）：Short for Toilet Training (Potty training)
降園（こうえん Kooen）：Leaving from nursery
おむかえ (Omukae) ：Pick up (when parents come to get their child)
子供を保育園に連れていく(こどもをほいくえんにつれていく Kodomo o Hoikuen ni tsurete iku)：Taking the child to nursery
子供を保育園に迎えに行く(こどもをほいくえんにむかえにいくKodomo o Hoikuen ni mukae ni iku)：Going to pick the child from nursery
おふとん、おてて、おなまえ？
Did you notice that many of the terms above start with ”お”? It’s the same “お” that we use in keigo, like in the phrase お名前を記入してください,Please write down your name. But this “お” is not used with keigo when speaking to children, and some words are only used when adults speak to small children. For example, おてて from て meaning hands and おいす from いす meaning chair are only used when adults speak to small children. For adults, we would just use て and いす without お.
You might hear sentences like:
おいすにすわろうね：Let’s sit on the chair
おててをあらおうね：Let’s wash our hands
This ”お” shows softness, and we use them to make children feel comfortable and cared.
New Class Announcement
We are excited to introduce a new Advanced Class starting in February!
It will be on Friday from 10:00 to 11:00 AM JST. In this class, we will read real news articles, discuss the topic, and learn new vocabulary and expressions to prepare for moving up to the high-advanced class. There will be homework like reading articles, and preparing for discussions. The teacher is Izumi, who has a lot of experience teaching advanced students at Nihongo PIcnic! If you have an N2 level of Japanese but feel like your speaking skills are stagnating, this class is for you!
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