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百科事典 (hyakkajiten) Japanese meaning: encyclopedia | Kotomora

百ひゃっ科か事じ典てん

ひゃ

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か

じ

て

ん

Common word›JLPTN2›

Meanings

1

A comprehensive reference work covering all branches of knowledge or a specific field, typically arranged alphabetically or thematically.

子こ供ども向むけの百ひゃっ科か事じ典てんを買かった。

I bought an encyclopedia for children.

この百ひゃっ科か事じ典てんは全ぜん30巻かんだ。

This encyclopedia consists of 30 volumes.

Usage patterns

百ひゃっ科か事じ典てんで調しらべるto look something up in an encyclopedia
分わからない言こと葉ばがあったら百ひゃっ科か事じ典てんで調しらべなさい。
If there's a word you don't understand, look it up in an encyclopedia.
百ひゃっ科か事じ典てんに載のっているto be listed/covered in an encyclopedia
その動どう物ぶつについては百ひゃっ科か事じ典てんに詳くわしく載のっている。
That animal is covered in detail in the encyclopedia.

Kanji

百hundred
科department, course, section
事matter, thing, fact
典code, ceremony, law
辞resign, word, term

Related words

事じ典てん
事典 is a shorter, less formal way to refer to a reference work covering knowledge, while 百科事典 is the standard full term for a comprehensive encyclopedia.
辞じ典てんN4
辞典 is a dictionary that explains words and their meanings, while 百科事典 is an encyclopedia that explains topics and knowledge in depth.
図ず鑑かんN2
図鑑 is a heavily illustrated reference book focused on visual identification (e.g. plants, animals), while 百科事典 is a text-based reference covering all fields of knowledge.

Don't confuse with

Written forms

百ひゃっ科か事じ典てん
Standard kanji spelling; the most common form in modern Japanese.
百ひゃっ科か辞じ典てん
Alternate kanji spelling using 辞典 (dictionary) instead of 事典 (encyclopedia); less common but still encountered.

Etymology

Compound of 百科 (hyakka, 'hundred subjects; all branches of knowledge') + 事典 (jiten, 'encyclopedia; reference book of facts'). The spelling 事典 was coined in Japanese to distinguish encyclopedias from 辞典 (dictionary of words).

辞じ書しょ

N5

辞書 is a general dictionary you consult for word meanings and spellings, while 百科事典 is an encyclopedia you consult for detailed knowledge on topics.

Counted with

冊さつN1
百科事典 is typically counted with 冊 when referring to individual volumes of the set.
巻かん
百科事典 is counted with 巻 when referring to a specific numbered volume within the full set.

Built from

百ひゃっ科か+事じ典てん