The Meaning of ensoku [遠足] In Japanese

遠足
えんそく
Romaji: ensoku N5

What does 遠足 mean?

Translation and Meaning

field trip, excursion

Definition

What does 遠足 mean? A school-organized outdoor excursion for students, usually a daytime outing to a park, museum, or other site outside the classroom, blending educational aims with recreation and group activity.

Type

Noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • Primary sense: a class- or school-led daytime outdoor trip to a site of interest for observation and informal learning.
  • Nuance: more often used for planned educational outings with teacher supervision, rather than casual travel.
  • Context: in modern usage, common in school schedules and announcements; outside education, 遠出 is more typical for general long-distance trips.

Etymology

ensoku is formed from the on’yomi readings of 遠 (en) and 足 (soku), combined to yield the pronunciation 遠足.

Composition

  • 遠: far, distant
  • 足: foot, leg
  • Together they convey moving to distant places, which underpins the concept of a planned outdoor learning trip enjoyed as part of education.

Usage

Primarily used in educational and formal contexts to refer to a planned outdoor excursion by a class or group; commonly seen in school communications and calendars. It is used with verbs like 行く or する to indicate participation; usage is more formal in written language than in casual speech.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: imagine a pair of feet walking away from school toward distant sights—the kanji for far (遠) and foot (足) visually link to the idea of a walking excursion.

Variations

  • 遠出 (えんしゅつ) – general long-distance trip, en-shutsu
  • 校外学習 (こうがいがくしゅう) – field study, kougai gakushuu
  • 社会見学 (しゃかいけんがく) – social studies field trip, shakai kengaku

Example Phrases

  • 明日 私たちは 学校の 遠足へ 行く 予定です
    Ashita watashitachi wa gakkou no ensoku e iku yotei desu
    Tomorrow we plan to go on the school excursion.
    Lista:
    • 明日 (Ashita) – Tomorrow
    • 私たちは (watashitachi wa) – we
    • 学校の (gakkou no) – of the school
    • 遠足へ (ensoku e) – to the excursion
    • 行く (iku) – go
    • 予定です (yotei desu) – is the plan
    Core grammar: へ marks direction; 「遠足」 is a noun meaning ‘excursion’; here it is part of 学校の 遠足へ 行く which expresses ‘going to the school excursion’ as a planned activity.
遠足