Word
宿題
Meaning in Englishhomework
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
Related sentences
N4
昨日、宿題をしてから寝ました。
Kinou, shukudai o shite kara nemashita.
Yesterday, I slept after doing my homework.
N4
音楽を聞きながら宿題をしました
Ongaku o kikinagara shukudai o shimashita
I did homework while listening to music
N4
明日までに宿題を出さなければなりません。
Ashita made ni shukudai o dasanakereba narimasen.
I must submit my homework by tomorrow.
N4
宿題を書き終わりました
Shukudai o kaki owarimashita
I finished writing the homework
N4
友達が宿題を手伝ってくれました
Tomodachi ga shukudai o tetsudatte kuremashita
My friend helped me with homework
N5
宿題はまだ終わっていません
Shukudai wa mada owatte imasen
The homework is not finished yet
N5
宿題の後でテレビを見ます。
Shukudai no ato de terebi o mimasu.
I watch TV after homework.
Word context
What it means
宿題 means a teacher-assigned task to be completed outside class; it is a core element of schooling, designed to reinforce concepts, practice skills, and prepare students for upcoming lessons.
Main meanings
- homework tasks assigned by teachers to be completed outside classroom hours
- a general term for school-related study exercises, such as worksheets or problem sets
- the act of doing such tasks, expressed in phrases like 宿題をする and 宿題がある
How to use it
Primarily used in educational settings to refer to assignments given by teachers; casual speech uses 宿題をする for doing homework and 宿題がある to indicate you have homework; in formal writing, 宿題を提出する or 学習課題 can be used as a more formal variant.
Variants and close terms
- 課題 (kadai) — assignment or task
- 家庭学習 (katei gakushū) — home study
- 学習課題 (gakushū kadai) — study task; more formal nuance
Composition
- 宿: lodging, stay; in compounds it signals a setting where tasks are undertaken
- 題: topic, subject; indicates the prompt or issue to address
- Combination: 宿題 denotes a designated topic to be addressed outside class
Etymology
宿 shuku lodging, stay; 題 dai topic; together they form a compound meaning a topic to be addressed outside class, hence 宿題; the reading is shukudai using on'yomi of both characters.
Word class
Noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
Kanji