How to Say ‘Is this Tanaka Elementary School?’ in Japanese
田中小学校ですか。
tanaka shou gakkou desu ka
[tah-nah-kah shoh gah-koh dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: A super common phone-check pattern: “[Place/Org] + [ですか]?”
🇯🇵 In Japan: Confirming the organization first is normal in Japan, especially if you were transferred or redialed.
Phrase Breakdown
田中小学校
tanaka shou gakkou
Tanaka Elementary School
A school name. 「小学校」 means “elementary school.” Often used as the subject (implied “(Is it) Tanaka Elementary School?”).
田中小学校の先生です。
I am a teacher at Tanaka Elementary School.
Words in this phrase
田中
tanaka
[tah-nah-kah]
Tanaka (surname / name)
Used here as part of the organization name (Tanaka Elementary School).
田中小学校ですか。
Is this Tanaka Elementary School?
小
shou
[shoh]
small; little (part of “elementary”)
In 小学校, it contributes the meaning “elementary (small) school.”
小学校ですか。
Is it an elementary school?
学校
gakkou
[gah-koh]
school
In school names, 学校 often refers to the institution you are calling.
学校ですか。
Is it the school?
ですか。
desu ka
is it? / are you? (polite question)
「です」 is the polite copula (“to be”), and 「か」 makes it a question. Used to confirm information politely.
保護者の方ですか。
Are you a parent/guardian?
Words in this phrase
です
desu
[dess]
is; am; are (polite)
Used to identify the place on the phone in a polite way.
田中小学校です。
This is Tanaka Elementary School.
か
ka
[kah]
(question marker)
Turns the statement into a confirmation question; common when checking you dialed the right place.
田中小学校ですか。
Is this Tanaka Elementary School?
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