esikoulu

esi- (“pre-”) +‎ koulu (“school”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈesiˌkou̯lu/, [ˈe̞s̠iˌko̞u̯lu]
• Rhymes: -oulu
• Syllabification^(key): e‧si‧kou‧lu
• Hyphenation^(key): esi‧koulu

esikoulu

1. (Finland) An educational institution, compulsory since August 2015, for children (normally between 6 and 7 years old) the last year before beginning primary school (peruskoulu); roughly equivalent to kindergarten (US)/reception (UK).
2. (Sweden) nursery school, preschool (educational institution for young children, usually from 1 year up to around 6 years old; takes place before esikoululuokka and then primary school or peruskoulu (Swedish grundskola))

   Synonym: päiväkoti (equivalent in Finland)

• While preschool is a literal translation, it is not correct, at least not when talking about education in Finland. English preschool in Finland is päiväkoti, an educational institution for children under the esikoulu age.
• In Sweden, the term esikoulu corresponds to Swedish förskola, literally “preschool”, and thus aligns with English preschool. What in Finland is called esikoulu (Swedish förskola) is called esikoululuokka (Swedish förskoleklass, literally “preschool class” or “preschool grade”) in Sweden.
• Education for small children before peruskoulu as a whole would more correctly be referred to as esiopetus.

• (colloquial) eskari

• esiopetus

• “esikoulu”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023