1Studying — gaining knowledge or skills through learning and practice. Covers school subjects but also languages, certifications, hobbies, and on-the-job skills, used in expressions like 日本語を勉強する, 試験勉強, or 独学で勉強する. Functions both as a noun and as the suru-verb 勉強する.
毎日2時間、日本語の勉強をしています。
I study Japanese for two hours every day.
来週の試験のために、図書館でずっと勉強していた。
I was studying at the library the whole time for next week's exam.
母に「もっと勉強しなさい」と言われた。
My mom told me, 'You need to study harder.'
彼はプログラミングを独学で勉強して、エンジニアになった。
He taught himself programming and became an engineer.
勉強しても勉強しても、覚えることが多すぎて追いつかない。
No matter how much I study, there's just too much to memorize and I can't keep up.
2Diligence; the quality of applying oneself earnestly. A somewhat dated standalone usage; more commonly appears today in compounds like 勉強熱心 (studious / hard-working) or 勉強家 (a studious person). Using bare 勉強 to mean 'diligence' tends to be limited to formal or written contexts.
彼は若い頃から勉強を怠ったことがないという。
They say he has never once slackened his efforts, ever since he was young.
苦しいときこそ、地道な勉強が物を言う。
It's precisely in difficult times that steady, diligent effort pays off.
3A lesson learned from experience; an eye-opener. Commonly used in phrases like いい勉強になった ('that was a good lesson / eye-opener') or 高い勉強代を払った ('I paid a steep tuition' = learned the hard way). Refers to insight gained from real-life events — especially failures or unexpected experiences — rather than from textbook study.
今回の失敗はいい勉強になりました。
This failure was a real eye-opener for me.
海外で一人暮らしをしてみて、本当にいい勉強になった。
Living alone overseas was a genuinely valuable learning experience.
騙されて50万円失った。高い勉強代だった。
I got scammed and lost 500,000 yen. An expensive lesson.
4A colloquial commercial expression: to give a price discount or throw in extras for a customer. Typically said by the seller (勉強します / 勉強しておきます = 'I'll give you a deal'), but customers may also ask もう少し勉強してくれませんか ('Could you knock it down a bit more?'). Most often heard in settings where prices are negotiable — appliance shops, family-run stores, used-car dealers, markets.
まとめて買っていただけるなら、もう少し勉強しますよ。
If you'll buy them together, I can knock the price down a bit more.
「現金払いだったら、もう少し勉強できませんか？」と店長に頼んでみた。
I asked the manager, 'If I pay in cash, could you bring the price down a bit more?'