Shukudai
/ʃuːkuːˈdaɪ/noun
A Japanese term for homework or schoolwork assigned to be completed outside class.
Did you know?Shukudai is written with characters meaning “lodging” and “topic,” but the compound is a Japanese Sino-Japanese term for assigned schoolwork, not a reference to magical sleep or spirits.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese
Old Chinese
宿
“To stay overnight, lodge, or spend the night”
Ancient Chinese
Old Chinese
題
“A subject, heading, title, or question”
Early Japanese
Sino-Japanese
宿 (shuku)
“Lodging, staying overnight; the Japanese reading derived from Chinese vocabulary”
Early Japanese
Sino-Japanese
題 (dai)
“Topic, subject, title, or problem”
Modern Japanese
Japanese
宿題 (shukudai)
“Homework or an assigned school exercise”
Modern English
English
shukudai
“A Japanese loanword used in English-language discussions of Japanese schoolwork, usually translated as “homework””