小升初

xiǎoshēngchū

noun

Meanings

1 transition from elementary school to junior high
2 primary-to-middle school promotion (and the high-stakes process around it)

Characters

small (short for 小学)

beginning (short for 初中)

Examples

小升初比高考还让家长焦虑。

Xiǎoshēngchū bǐ gāokǎo hái ràng jiāzhǎng jiāolǜ.

The primary-to-junior-high transition stresses parents out even more than the gaokao.

为了小升初，他报了六个补习班。

Wèile xiǎoshēngchū, tā bào le liù ge bǔxí bān.

He signed up for six cram-school classes to prep for junior high admissions.

Tips

culture

Short for 小学升初中. In big cities this is fiercely competitive: 点招 (targeted admission), 学区房 (school-district housing), and 奥数 (math olympiad) prep all revolve around it.

Stroke Order

小 xiǎo

升 shēng

初 chū