校园

• Pinyin: xiào yuán
• Hanzi breakdown: 校 = 木 (wood) + 交 (to cross, phonetic); 园 = 囗 (enclosure) + 元 (origin, phonetic), simplified from 園

Meaning

Campus; school grounds. The physical area of a school or university.

Refers to the grounds and buildings of an educational institution, from primary schools to universities. Commonly appears in compounds like 校园生活 (campus life), 校园文化 (campus culture), and 校园安全 (campus safety). In China, many university campuses are large and self-contained, with dormitories, canteens, shops, and parks all within the 校园.

Examples

1. 我们学校的校园很大。 Our school's campus is very large.
2. 校园里有很多树和花。 There are many trees and flowers on campus.
3. 他喜欢在校园里散步。 He likes to take walks on campus.

Usage Guide

Context: education, school life, university

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这个大学的校园很漂亮。(This university's campus is very beautiful.)
• 校园里不能骑快车。(You can't ride fast on campus.)

Don't Say

• 我去校园买东西 to mean going to a shop near school (Don't use 校园 for areas outside the school — 校园 means the school grounds themselves; use 学校附近 for nearby areas)

Origin & History

校 (xiào, school) + 园 (yuán, garden/park). Literally 'school garden' — the garden-like grounds of a school campus.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal