Abbreviation for elementary school (shōgakkō); refers to primary/grade school or its grades (e.g., 'shōgaku 1st year' = first year of elementary school).
息子は今年から小学に入学する。
My son will enter elementary school this year.
小学三年生の算数の授業は楽しいと言っている。
He says third-grade elementary math class is fun.
学校説明会では小学の教育方針について詳しく説明があった。
At the school information session they explained the elementary school's educational policy in detail.
A historical term from ancient China referring to a school for children over eight years old; used today mainly in historical or academic contexts.
古代中国の史料によれば、小学は八歳以上の子供に基礎教育を施す場だった。
According to ancient Chinese records, the shōgaku was a place providing basic education to children over eight.
In traditional Chinese philology, a field concerning the study of characters, etymology, and annotations — a classical scholarly category referred to as 'xiaoxue' (小学).
彼は漢字の字源を研究するために小学を専攻した。
He majored in xiaoxue to study the origins of Chinese characters.