Translation guide
The English word "class" covers many distinct concepts. This guide breaks them down into practical meanings and shows how to express each naturally in Japanese.
A scheduled period of instruction in a school or course.
The most common word for a class or lesson in an educational setting.
次の授業は数学です。
The next class is math.
授業に遅れた。
I was late for class.
A loanword from English, often used for a class as a group of students or a course, especially in language schools or private lessons.
英会話クラスに通っています。
I'm taking an English conversation class.
Refers specifically to a lecture, typically at a university.
午後の講義は退屈だった。
The afternoon class (lecture) was boring.
A group of students who study together, often in the same grade or homeroom.
Used for a class as a group of students, especially in elementary through high school.
私のクラスは30人です。
My class has 30 students.
クラスメートと仲良くしています。
I get along with my classmates.
Often used in school contexts to denote a specific class group (e.g., Class 1-A).
A more formal term for a class as a unit in a school, often used in educational contexts.
A division of society based on social or economic status.
The standard term for social class or rank.
彼は労働者階級の出身だ。
He comes from a working-class background.
Refers to social strata or layers, often used in sociological contexts.
A group of things sharing common attributes.
The most common word for 'kind' or 'type'.
この店にはいろいろな種類のパンがある。
This shop has various kinds (classes) of bread.
Used for classification or division into categories, often in formal contexts.
A somewhat literary term for category or class.
A level of quality or excellence, often used in phrases like 'first-class' or 'world-class'.
Means 'first-class' or 'top-notch'. Used to describe high quality.
彼は一流のシェフだ。
He is a first-class chef.
A suffix meaning '-class' or 'grade', as in 'business class' or 'A-class'.
ビジネスクラスはエコノミー級より高い。
Business class is more expensive than economy class.
Means 'high-class' or 'luxury', often used for goods and services.
In object-oriented programming, a blueprint for creating objects.
The standard term in programming contexts, borrowed from English.
このクラスからオブジェクトを作成します。
Create an object from this class.
Stylishness or elegance in appearance or behavior.
Means 'elegant' or 'refined'. Often used to describe a person's classy demeanor.
彼女はとても上品だ。
She has a lot of class.
Refers to an air of elegance or grace, often innate.
While クラス is a common loanword, it doesn't cover all meanings of 'class'. For school lessons, use 授業. For social class, use 階級. Using クラス for these can sound unnatural.
授業 refers to the lesson itself, while クラス often refers to the group of students or the course as a whole. If you say 'I have class now', 授業 is more natural than クラス.
今から授業があります。
I have class now.
彼女は本当に上品だ。
She's got real class.
He is in class 2 of the first grade.
学級委員に選ばれた。
I was elected class representative.
社会階層について研究している。
I'm researching social class (stratification).
I organized the documents by class (category).
This work falls into the class of masterpieces.
高級レストランで食事した。
We dined at a high-class restaurant.
His behavior has class.