Classroom Expressions in Japanese

Before a Japanese class truly starts, the room often goes quiet for a few seconds — then a classmate calls out kiritsu. Everyone stands. That short ritual is one of the first classroom expressions many learners notice, and it says as much about school culture as it does about vocabulary.

If you are studying Japanese, teaching it, or simply curious about how schools in Japan open a lesson, the phrases below keep coming up: formal greetings, teacher instructions, and polite student requests with romaji and clear meanings.

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At the Beginning and End of Class in Japan

In many Japanese schools through high school, students stand and bow to show respect when class begins. A designated student often leads the sequence with these short commands:

	Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
1.	起立	Kiritsu	Stand up
2.	気をつけ	Ki o tsuke	Attention
3.	礼	Rei	Bow
4.	着席	Chakuseki	Be seated

The teacher usually bows as well, then the lesson starts. When the bell rings at the end, the same sequence often repeats. Some schools skip ki o tsuke or chakuseki, and wording can vary slightly by region. At university level — and in many language courses outside Japan — this formal lineup is less common; the habit is strongest in elementary through high school.

Expressions Teachers Use in Class

These are phrases teachers often use to run a lesson. Many end in ~te kudasai, a polite way to ask someone to do something:

Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
繰り返して下さい	Kurikaeshite kudasai.	Please repeat (after me).
気を付けてください	Ki o tsukete kudasai.	Please pay attention.
静かにして下さい	Shizuka ni shite kudasai.	Please be quiet.
宿題を出してください	Shukudai o dashite kudasai.	Please submit your homework.
立ってください	Tatte kudasai.	Please stand up.
座ってください	Suwatte kudasai.	Please sit down.

A few building blocks behind those sentences:

• kurikaesu — to repeat
• ki o tsukeru — to pay attention (idiomatic)
• shizuka ni suru — to be quiet / make things quiet
• dasu — to put out / hand in (homework in this context)

Useful Expressions for Students

As a student, you will often need permission, clarification, or a simple yes/no. Permission requests commonly use the pattern ~te mo ii desu ka? — literally “is it all right even if I…?”:

Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
トイレに行ってもいいですか	Toire ni itte mo ii desu ka?	May I go to the bathroom?
水を飲んでもいいですか	Mizu o nonde mo ii desu ka?	May I drink water / get a drink?
はい、いいです	Hai, ii desu.	Yes, that is fine.
いいえ、ダメです	Iie, dame desu.	No, that is not allowed / not OK.

Ii (良い) means “good” or “OK”; dame (ダメ) means “no good.” Once you know the pattern, you can swap the verb for other classroom needs.

Other student phrases that show up constantly in language classes:

Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
質問があります	Shitsumon ga arimasu.	I have a question.
もう一度お願いします	Mō ichido onegai shimasu.	Once more, please.
わかりません	Wakarimasen.	I don't understand.
何ページですか	Nan-pēji desu ka?	What page is it?

And one line you will hopefully hear a lot from the teacher:

Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
よく出来ました	Yoku dekimashita.	Good job (literally “you could do it well”).

Want the vocabulary for desks, blackboards, and other school gear next? See also Japanese classroom objects.

These classroom expressions are short, but they open a door into how Japanese schools set the tone for a lesson — respect first, then the content of the day.