招生 literally means 'to recruit students' — 招 (zhāo) means 'to attract, to recruit', and 生 (shēng) is short for 学生 (xuéshēng), meaning 'student'. Together, 招生 refers to the formal process by which schools, universities, or training programs admit new students. It encompasses activities like publishing admission requirements, reviewing applications, conducting entrance exams or interviews, and issuing acceptance notices.

This term is widely used in educational contexts — from kindergarten enrollment to graduate school admissions. While it functions as a verb (e.g., 学校正在招生 — 'The school is enrolling students'), it commonly appears as a noun in compound terms like 招生简章 (admissions brochure), 招生办 (admissions office), or 招生政策 (admissions policy). It carries a formal, institutional tone and is rarely used in casual speech about individual student registration.