School subjects in Japan – Vocabulary in Japanese

Have you ever asked what school subjects exist in Japan? What topics are covered in a university in Japan? The Japanese have a freedom when it comes to studying; they can choose which subjects to learn, of course, there are mandatory ones. In this article, we will see a list of school subjects in Japanese.

Among the Japanese subjects are Japanese language, social studies, mathematics, sciences, music, arts, health, and physical education, in addition to different classes such as domestic and industrial work, moral education, and citizenship. It is worth highlighting that the kanji Gaku [学] means to learn and study; it will be present in many of the subjects and words in this article.

Unlike school subjects in Brazil, academic topics in Japan are divided into 4 categories that we will see throughout this article.

We also recommend reading:

• Universities in Japan: learn how to start your studies in the country
• What are schools like in Japan? 50 Curiosities and Rules

人 文学 / Hito bungaku / Human Sciences

Human sciences do not refer to the science we know, but rather to the study and behavior of humans.

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	Portuguese
哲学	て つ が く	tetsugaku	Philosophy
歴 史	れ き し	rekishi	History
文学	ぶ ん が く	Bungaku	Literature
語 学	ご が く	Gogaku	The study of language

• Gogaku should not be confused with 言語学 (gengogaku) “linguistics” (the study of language in general);

社会科学 / Shakai kagaku / Social Sciences

As the name suggests, this science studies the social aspects of the human world.

	Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	Portuguese
	心理学	し ん り が く	shinrigaku	Psychology
	社会学	し ゃ か い が く	shakaigaku	Sociology
1	言語 学	げ ん ご が く	gengogaku	Linguistics
2	人類学	じ ん る い が く	jinruigaku	Anthropology
	地理 (学)	ち り (が く)	chiri (gaku)	Geography
3	経 済 (学)	け い ざ い (が く)	Keizai (gaku)	Economics
4	政治 学	せ い じ が く	seijigaku	Political Science

1. Should not be confused with gogaku (語学) “the study of language” (learning a language like Japanese or English);
2. 人類 (Jinrui) = Humanity;
3. 経済 (Keizai) = Economics;
4. 政治 (seiji) = Government / politics;

自然科学 / Shizen kagaku / Natural Sciences

	Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	Portuguese
1	生物 (学)	せ い ぶ つ (が く)	seibutsu (gaku)	Biology
2	化学	か が く	kagaku	Chemistry
	物理 (学)	ぶ つ り (が く)	butsuri (gaku)	Physics
	天文 (学)	て ん も ん (が く)	tenmon (gaku)	Astronomy
	地質 (学)	ち し つ (が く)	chishitsu (gaku)	Geology
3	環境 科学	か ん き ょ う か が く	Kankyou kagaku	Environmental Science

1. 生物(seibutsu) = Living beings;
2. 科学 = Also pronounced kagaku, means “science”;
3. 環境 (Kankyou) = Environment;

Other school subjects in Japan

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	Portuguese
数学	す う が く	suugaku	Mathematics
統計 (学)	と う け い (が く)	toukei (gaku)	Statistics
工 学	こ う が く	kougaku	Engineering
医学	い が く	Igaku	Medical Science
	コンピューター・サイエンス	Konpyūtā Saiensu	Computer Science
英語	え い ご	eigo	English
音楽	おんがく	ongaku	Music
雪氷 学	せ っ ぴ ょ う が く	seppyougaku	Glaciology
史学	し が く	shigaku	History
家庭 科	か て い か	kateika	Home Economics
国語	こ く ご	kokugo	Japanese
日本語	に ほ ん ご	nihongo	Japanese
体育	た い い く	taiiku	Physical Education
宗教	し ゅ う き ょ う	Shuukyou	Religion

Unfortunately, some subjects may have been left off the list, such as optional subjects or school clubs. Thank you for visiting our site; we appreciate the comments and shares. xD