# to take attendance



## yuechu

大家好！

In Canada, teachers usually take attendance at the beginning of class to see which students are present and absent. I noticed in the WR dictionary that this is called "数上课人数". This expression seems a bit long. Is there also a shorter (or alternative) way of saying it, or is this what is normally said?

Thanks!


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## ovaltine888

点名
call the roll


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## yuechu

Oh ok! Thanks, Ovaltine888! 😃
How about the original phrase? (数上课人数）Does it also sound ok?


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## ovaltine888

yuechu said:


> Oh ok! Thanks, Ovaltine888! 😃
> How about the original phrase? (数上课人数）Does it also sound ok


I don't think it is idiomatic.
点名 is fine.
这个老师上课不点名 所以可以翘他的课。
This teacher does not take attendance so we can skip his class.


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## yuechu

Oh, it's good that I asked then! I just assumed that the WR example sentences would be idiomatic...

Thanks again, and thanks for the example, Ovaltine888!


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## ovaltine888

There is a formal word for attendance which is 出勤.

这个老师会查出勤率，缺勤三次你就挂了。
This teacher takes attendance. You would be failed as long as you have more than three absences.


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## dojibear

Taking attendance is determining which students (名) are absent, 
not just counting the number (数上课人数) of students who are present.


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## yuechu

ovaltine888 said:


> There is a formal word for attendance which is 出勤.
> 
> 这个老师会查出勤率，缺勤三次你就挂了。
> This teacher takes attendance. You would be failed as long as you have more than three absences.


OK! Thanks!



dojibear said:


> Taking attendance is determining which students (名) are absent,
> not just counting the number (数上课人数) of students who are present.


That's true. I was just copying the example sentence in the WR dictionary:


Mrs. Evans takes attendance every morning at 8:00. _埃文斯夫人每天早上8点都会数上课人数。_


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## dojibear

attendance - WordReference.com 英汉词典

This is an example of the meaning "school count" (translated as 上课人数). 

Two above that is the meaning "record of being present" (translated as 出勤). That is a better fit for:


yuechu said:


> In Canada, teachers usually take attendance at the beginning of class _to see which students are present and absent_.


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## T.D

Literally，"数上课人数" means "to count the number of people attending the class". The action of doing so is called "点名".


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## gonecar

点名 would be" to call the roll". The teacher would call the names one after another on the list, checking who is absent (and thereby who is present). 

数人数(点人数), to check how many people attend a class, doesn't necessarily aim to check out who are not there. 

To take attendance is to make a record of persons attending something, which can be achieved through either 点名 or 数人数. 

I think *考勤* would be an equivalent of "taking attendance".


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## ovaltine888

考勤 sounds more like in a company.


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## SuperXW

gonecar said:


> I think *考勤* would be an equivalent of "taking attendance".


I think it depends. In many contexts, 考勤 is the noun of the activity. For example, 考勤记录, 考勤表. The verb phrase I would use is *记*考勤.


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## gonecar

SuperXW said:


> I think it depends. In many contexts, 考勤 is the noun of the activity. For example, 考勤记录, 考勤表. The verb phrase I would use is *记*考勤.


Agreed.


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