School in Esperanto – subjects, supplies, lerni vs studi

School in Esperanto is lernejo, built as lern·ej·o, "learn" plus "place": a place meant for learning. A pupil is a lernanto, a teacher an instruisto, and the three key verbs are lerni "to learn", instrui "to teach" and studi "to study". Three traps are worth knowing: studento means a university student, profesoro means a university professor, and lerni is not the verb for "to find out". Pronunciation guides split words into syllables, with the stressed syllable in capitals.

#Kinds of schools

Names and ages of school levels differ from country to country, so the reference dictionary ReVo defines them by their place in the sequence and gives age ranges that depend on the country.

English "college" has no single match. ReVo defines kolegio as an institute or faculty and lists it beside gimnazio and liceo as a possible secondary school, so for precision say universitato, fakultato or mezlernejo.

#People at school

Two false friends need care. For a child at school, ReVo's usage note recommends lernanto, not studento. And ReVo marks the sense profesoro has in Romance-language countries, a primary or secondary school teacher, as misleading internationally and to be avoided in Esperanto. A school teacher is an instruisto; more work words are on the jobs and work page.

#School subjects

A school subject is a fako "branch" of knowledge, and a ReVo example under fako calls school subjects lernofakoj. Languages are named with an adjective: la angla "English", la franca "French".

#School supplies and the -il- suffix

PMEG describes the suffix -il- as "instrument, apparatus, means": what stands before it shows the action. So skribi "to write" gives skribilo, any tool for writing. Plain roots such as libro, kajero and krajono take no -il-.

#Lessons, homework and exams

#Verbs for learning, teaching and exams

#Learn, study or teach: lerni, studi, instrui

ReVo defines lerni as taking in knowledge and routines from science, art, craft or sport, and also as gaining knowledge through experience. It defines studi as working diligently, through courses, reading and exercises, to gain deep knowledge of a field. Instrui is to pass knowledge on: instrui ion al iu or instrui iun pri io.

The two learner verbs overlap. For a language, both Mi lernas Esperanton and Mi studas Esperanton are correct; the second stresses a deliberate course of study. Typical slips:

#Talking about school

#School words from word parts

Instruanto is anyone who is teaching now, instruisto teaches as a job; compare suffixes, word building and participles. The suffix -iĝ- "become" gives diplom·iĝ·i, literally "to come to hold a diploma". To learn Esperanto itself, start with the learning guide; the exams page covers the KER certificate exams.

#Common questions

#How do you say "school" in Esperanto?

Lernejo. Use en la lernejo for "at school" and al la lernejo for "to school": Mi estas en la lernejo, Mi iras al la lernejo.

#What is the difference between lerni and studi?

Lerni is to take in knowledge or a skill: lerni naĝi. Studi is to work through a field in depth, as in a university course: studi fizikon. For a language both are used, so Mi lernas Esperanton and Mi studas Esperanton are both correct; instrui is "to teach".

#What is the difference between lernanto and studento?

Lernanto is anyone who is learning, and the right word for a child at school. Studento is a learner at a university or academy.

#How do you say "I have an exam tomorrow"?

Mi havas ekzamenon morgaŭ. To take the exam, say ekzameniĝi or fari ekzamenon; to pass it, trapasi ekzamenon.

#How do you say "high school" and "college"?

For high school use mezlernejo, gimnazio or liceo. For college, choose universitato, fakultato or supera lernejo by meaning.

#Sources

• ReVo: lernejo, bazlernejo, mezlernejo, lernanto, lerni, lernilo, instrui, studi, studento, ekzameni, ekzameno, ekzameniĝi, ekzamenisto, diplomo, klaso, leciono, profesoro, universitato
• ReVo: gimnazio, liceo, kolegio, rektoro, infanĝardeno, fako, ĥemio, kemio, matematiko, geografio, historio, gimnastiko, gimnastikejo, klasĉambro, fiziko, biologio, lingvo, literaturo, muziko, sporto, arto, desegni
• ReVo: kajero, krajono, skribilo, gumo, tabulo, kreto, pupitro, liniilo, kalkulilo, pintigi, tornistro, dorsosako, horaro, hejmtasko, noto, ekscii
• PMEG: EJ, IL, IST, ESTR, AN, IĜ, Participoj kiel O-vortoj, Bazaj reguloj de elparolo
• Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0: diplomiĝi
• Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, usage checked against sentences #558938, #597790, #552655, #561521