JLPT N2 - Word/Grammar Point of the Day #13 (and a tangent on school systems)
Word of the Day #13 - 幼稚園
幼稚園 (youchien) means "kindergarten" or "preschool". It's super simple, so to make it fun, let's quickly look at the slight difference between the school system in Japan and that of the United States.
In the US, kindergarten and preschool are two different concepts. Generally, the stages of schooling are as follows:
Preschool (optional) - for toddlers and children before they start school
Kindergarten - 1 year; children enter when they are 5 years old
Elementary School - 5 years
Middle School - 3 years
High School - 4 years
This school progression is typically referred to as K-12, with K representing kindergarten and the grades count upward until 12th grade in the final year of high school.
In Japan, the school progression very similar, but just different enough that it should be noted:
幼稚園 (optional) - for toddlers and children before they start school
小学校 - 6 years; children enter when they are 6 years old
中学校 - 3 years
高校 - 3 years
This structure is also the reason 幼稚園 translates to both kindergarten and preschool. The United States uses the word kindergarten to refer to the year of school before 1st grade. This is similar to Reception in the UK or Prep in Australia. Japan does not have this concept and so has a single word to represent the optional years of education prior to the first year of mandatory schooling.
Grammar Point of the Day #13 - 「 に関わらず 」
「 に関わらず 」 (ni kakawarazu) means "in spite of" or "regardless of". It's typically used in the structure "A + に関わらず + B" to communicate that some factor, A, is not an important consideration when thinking or talking about B.
I'll skip any additional commentary on this grammar point today since I went off on a long tangent about the Japanese school system. 😅
例文：
年齢に関わらず、誰でもそれに応募できる。 Anyone can apply, regardless of age.
