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人文学 (jinbungaku) Japanese meaning: humanities | Kotomora

人じん文ぶん学がく

じ

ん

ぶ

ん

が

く

Meanings

1

humanities; liberal arts

Refers to the academic disciplines that study human culture, such as literature, philosophy, history, and the arts. Often contrasted with the natural sciences (自然科学) and social sciences (社会科学).

See also: 人文科学

彼かの女じょは大だい学がくで人じん文ぶん学

がく

を

専せん

攻こう

し

て

いる

。

She is majoring in humanities at university.

人じん文ぶん学がくの研けん究きゅうは、人にん間げんの文ぶん化かや思し想そうを深ふかく理り解かいするために重じゅう要ようだ。

Research in the humanities is important for deeply understanding human culture and thought.

Kanji

人person
文sentence, literature, style
学study, learning, science

Related words

人じん文ぶん科か学がくN2
人文科学 and 人文学 both mean 'humanities', but 人文科学 emphasizes its status as an academic discipline (often contrasted with 自然科学/社会科学), while 人文学 is the broader, slightly less formal term for the field itself.

Built from

人じん+文ぶん学がく

Etymology

Compound of 人文 (jinbun, 'humanities; human culture') + 学 (gaku, 'study; learning'). The term is a modern academic coinage, likely from the Meiji period, translating Western concepts of the humanities.