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化学 (かがく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

化か学がく

also: ばけがく

か

が

く

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

noun

The scientific study of substances and their reactions. The reading ばけがく is a colloquial disambiguation from 科学 (science).

See also: 科学 (かがく)

彼かれは大だい学がくで化か学がくを専せん攻こうしている。
He is majoring in chemistry at university.
化

か

学がく

の

実じっ

験けん

で

新あたら

しい

物ぶっ

質しつ

を

合ごう

成せい

し

た

。

We synthesized a new substance in the chemistry experiment.

Written forms

化学Usage100%
- かがく
  Standard kanji spelling for chemistry.
- ばけがく
ばけがく
Slangy reading used to avoid confusion with 科学 (かがく, science).

Kanji

化change, take the form of, influence
学study, learning, science

Similar words

科か学がく
科学 means 'science' in general, while 化学 specifically means 'chemistry'. The two are homophones, leading to the occasional use of ばけがく for 化学 to avoid confusion.

Etymology

Coined in Japan as a compound of 化 (change, transformation) and 学 (study, learning), reflecting the study of transformations of matter.