教室
classroom
jiàoshì
What does 教室 mean?
教室 (jiàoshì) is the standard Chinese word for 'classroom' — built from 教 ('to teach') + 室 ('room'). It refers to the physical room where instruction happens, in any kind of school: elementary, secondary, university, language center. To say which classroom, Chinese typically puts the room number AFTER 教室 — though in everyday speech you'll hear both orders: 三零一教室 or 教室三零一 ('Classroom 301'). Don't confuse 教室 with 课 (kè, 'class / lesson' as a unit of time): 我去教室 = 'I'm going to the classroom (the room)'; 我有课 = 'I have class (the lesson)'. The 教 here is read jiào (fourth tone) when it functions as a noun-modifier prefix, even though as a verb 'to teach' it's also jiāo (first tone) in some contexts — for 教室, only jiào works. Common related rooms: 办公室 (office), 会议室 (meeting room), 图书馆 (library).
Character breakdown
to teach; education
room; chamber
Memory hook: 教 (teach) + 室 (room) = teaching room = classroom. Same logic as 办公室 (work-office-room) and 会议室 (meeting-room).
Measure word for 教室
Example sentences
我们的教室在二楼。
Wǒmen de jiàoshì zài èr lóu.
Our classroom is on the second floor.
neutral
教室里有二十个学生。
Jiàoshì lǐ yǒu èrshí ge xuésheng.
There are twenty students in the classroom.
neutral
请安静地进教室。
Qǐng ānjìng de jìn jiàoshì.
Please enter the classroom quietly.
polite
下课了，我们出教室吧。
Xià kè le, wǒmen chū jiàoshì ba.
Class is over — let's leave the classroom.
spoken
这间教室很大，也很干净。
Zhè jiān jiàoshì hěn dà, yě hěn gānjìng.
This classroom is big, and also clean.
neutral
Common phrases with 教室
Synonyms
课堂 ('the class / the lesson setting') is more abstract — refers to the class as an event/space-of-learning, often in writing. 教室 is the physical room. 课堂上 = 'in class (during the lesson)'; 教室里 = 'in the classroom (inside the room).'
Don't confuse 教室 with
办公室 is an 'office' (where staff/teachers work). 教室 is where students sit in class. Same 室 ending; very different rooms.
课 is 'class / lesson' as a unit of time or content. 教室 is the physical room. Beginners say 我去课 (wrong) when they mean 我去上课 (go attend class) or 我去教室 (go to the classroom).
教师 ('teacher') sounds nearly identical to 教室 (jiàoshì) but means a person, not a room. 教师 = teacher (jiàoshī); 教室 = classroom (jiàoshì). One tone of difference (shī vs shì) changes everything.