The difference between “児童”, “生徒” and “学生”

The difference between “児童”, “生徒” and “学生”

There are not many cases where 児童 and 生徒 and 学生 are strictly distinguished in general conversations, but they are distinguished in law.

In the School Education Act, they refer to persons who are receiving elementary education (persons who are enrolled at an elementary school/the elementary school section of a special needs school) as “児童”, and elementary school students are “児童”. They refer to persons who are receiving secondary education (persons who are enrolled at a junior high school/senior high school) as “生徒”, and junior high school students, senior high school students and so on are “生徒”. They refer to persons who are receiving higher education (persons who are enrolled at a university/technical college) as “学生”, and junior college students, university students, graduate students, college students and so on are “学生”.

In addition, they refer to specialized training college students (vocational school students) who go to a special training college/miscellaneous school and the like as “生徒”, and they refer to kindergarteners and nursery school pupils who are at the stage of preschool education as “幼児”.

In laws other than the School Education Act, the definition of 児童 varies. In the Child Welfare Act, the Child Abuse Prevention Act, the Anti-Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Act and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, they are persons under full 18 years of age. In the Road Traffic Act, they are persons who are over 6 years old and under 13 years old. In the Child Support Allowance Act, they refer to persons who until their first March 31 elapses after reaching the full 18 years of age as “児童”.

A student identification card, student uniform, SD (student discount) and so on are also used not only for university students but also for junior high school students and senior high school students. As for the meanings of the words, 児童 speaks of a child, 生徒 speaks of a person who receives their education in a school and 学生 speaks of a person who pursues their studies, and because the meanings of the words and their legal definitions vary, it is not the case that it is necessary to use 児童/生徒/学生 properly in accordance with the school/course on the occasion when you use them in situations that have no relationship with the law.

Source

 * https://chigai-allguide.com/%E5%85%90%E7%AB%A5%E3%81%A8%E7%94%9F%E5%BE%92%E3%81%A8%E5%AD%A6%E7%94%9F/

Other Language

 * 「児童」「生徒」「学生」の違い