初等

chūděng

adjective HSK 6 #65,798

Meanings

Literally 'first level' — the most basic or introductory stage.

Chūděng jiàoyù duì měi gè háizi dōu hěn zhòngyào.

Elementary education is important for every child.

Zhè shì yī běn chūděng shùxué jiàocái.

This is an elementary mathematics textbook.

Tā zhǐ yǒu chūděng wénhuà shuǐpíng.

He only has an elementary level of education.

usage

初等 is formal/academic. The progression is: 初等 (elementary) → 中等 (intermediate) → 高等 (advanced). These are mainly used for education levels.

usage

初等教育 (elementary education), 初等数学 (elementary math). In everyday speech, 小学 (xiǎoxué, primary school) is more common than 初等学校.

初 chū

等 děng