Java “cannot find symbol”: what it means and how to fix it

// Grades.java (ours): two mistakes on purpose
public class Grades {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int total = 0;
        for (int i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {
            int score = i * 10;
            total = total + score;
        }
        System.out.println("Last score: " + score);
        System.out.println("Total: " + Total);
    }
}

Ours. Line 8 uses score after the loop that declared it has ended; line 9 writes Total with a capital T.

> javac Grades.java
Grades.java:8: error: cannot find symbol
        System.out.println("Last score: " + score);
                                            ^
  symbol:   variable score
  location: class Grades
Grades.java:9: error: cannot find symbol
        System.out.println("Total: " + Total);
                                       ^
  symbol:   variable Total
  location: class Grades
2 errors

Our run, javac 22.0.1 on Windows 11, 17 October 2026. Two separate errors, one per unmatched name.

// Fixed.java (ours): score declared before the loop,
// total spelled the way it was declared
import java.util.ArrayList;

public class Fixed {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int total = 0;
        int score = 0;
        for (int i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {
            score = i * 10;
            total = total + score;
        }
        System.out.println("Last score: " + score);
        System.out.println("Total: " + total);

        ArrayList<String> names = new ArrayList<>();
        names.add("Ada");
        System.out.println(names.size());
    }
}

> javac Fixed.java && java Fixed
Last score: 30
Total: 60
1

Ours, compiled and run with javac and java 22.0.1. Declaring score before the loop and spelling total consistently clears both errors; the import line makes ArrayList visible.

// Ident.java (ours): statements outside any method
public class Ident {
    int count = 0;
    count = 5;
    System.out.println(count);
}

> javac Ident.java
Ident.java:3: error: <identifier> expected
    count = 5;
         ^

Ours, javac 22.0.1. The full run printed three of these errors, two of them on line 4. A declaration with a value is allowed directly in a class; an assignment or a println is not, so it must go inside a method such as main.