Hayaumare

Hayaumare (lit. born early) refers to children born before the birthday cutoff for school. In Japan, a new grade begins with students born on 4/2 (the Japanese school year begins in April). Children born between 1/1 through 4/1 are therefore "born early" and assigned to the grade above. The antonym for hayaumare is osoumare (lit. born late).

I don't think there is a legal equivalent in the United States. It seems to be up to the parents' discretion whether a child born in late summer is placed in the grade above or grade below. I have two friends: the older one (by a month) was placed in the grade below me and the younger one was in the same grade as me.

• The characters Hanami Saki and Hanami Ume from Gakuen Idolmaster are placed in the same class despite Saki being a year older. Saki is osoumare, with a 4/2 birthday, and Ume is hayaumare, with a 4/1 birthday of the next year.
• Japan Ministry of Education page explaining the birthday cutoff

Created 2024-05-25.

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