自し然ぜん科か学がく

し

ぜ

ん

か

が

く

Common wordJLPTN2

Meanings

1

noun

natural science

Refers to the systematic study of the physical and natural world, including physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, etc.

彼かれは自し然ぜん科か学がくに強つよい関かん心しんを持も

っ

て

いる

。

He has a strong interest in natural science.

自し然ぜん科か学がくの進しん歩ぽは私わたしたちの生せい活かつを大おおきく変かえた。

Advances in natural science have greatly changed our lives.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉は自し然ぜん科か学がくを専せん攻こうするto major in natural science
彼かの女じょは大だい学がくで自し然ぜん科か学がくを専せん攻こうしている。
She majors in natural science at university.
自し然ぜん科か学がくの分ぶん野やthe field of natural science
自し然ぜん科か学がくの分ぶん野やでは新あたらしい発はっ見けんが続つづいている。
New discoveries continue to be made in the field of natural science.

Kanji

自oneself
然sort of thing, so, if so
科department, course, section
学study, learning, science

Related words

科か学がくN4
科学 is the general word for 'science' covering all academic science, while 自然科学 narrows this to the natural sciences like physics and biology.
理り系けいN3
自然科学 is the formal academic term for the natural sciences, while 理系 is the everyday, broader word covering science, math, and engineering tracks or people.

Opposites

人じん文ぶん科か学がくN2
自然科学 studies the physical/natural world, while 人文科学 studies human culture, language, and history.
社しゃ会かい科か学がくN2
自然科学 covers physics, chemistry, and biology, while 社会科学 covers economics, sociology, and political science.

Don't confuse with

社しゃ会かい科か学がくN2
社会科学 covers fields like sociology and economics, while 自然科学 covers physics, chemistry, and biology.

Built from

自し然ぜん+科か学がく

Etymology

Compound of 自然 (しぜん, 'nature') and 科学 (かがく, 'science'). The term is a calque from Western languages, likely entering Japanese during the Meiji period as part of the modernization of academic terminology.