人類学
jinruigaku[d͡ʑĩn̺ɾɯ̟iɡa̠kɯ̟]
Anthropology in Japanese is 人類学 (jinruigaku).
人類学 is the noun used to refer to the study of humanity.
Meaning: the study of humanity (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
jinruigaku
Did you know?
- While 人類学 refers to the academic field, the characters 人類 are often used in Japanese science fiction and anime to describe 'the human race' facing a global crisis or alien threat.
- The character 類 in 人類 specifically carries the nuance of 'category' or 'type', meaning 'anthropology' is categorized as the 'study of the human category'.
- While many English academic terms rely on Greek or Latin roots, the Japanese term 人類学 uses purely Han characters that describe the subject's components directly.
Examples in context
- 人類学は私の専攻です。Anthropology is my major.
- あの人は文化人類学の研究者です。That person is a cultural anthropologist.
- 人類学を専攻しています。Jinrui-gaku o senkou shite imasu.I am majoring in anthropology.
- 彼は人類学の研究者です。Kare wa jinrui-gaku no kenkyuusha desu.He is an anthropology researcher.
- 人類学の本を読んでいます。Jinrui-gaku no hon o yonde imasu.I am reading a book on anthropology.
Example conversation
Two students are talking about their university studies in a cafe.
- 陽太 Yota美咲さんは何を勉強しているの？Misaki-san wa nani o benkyou shite iru no?Misaki, what are you studying?
- 美咲 Misaki人類学を学んでいます。Jinrui-gaku o manande imasu.I am studying anthropology.
- 陽太 Yotaそれは面白そうな分野だね。Sore wa omoshirosou na bunya da ne.That sounds like an interesting field.
- 美咲 Misakiはい、とても興味深いです。Hai, totemo kyoumibukai desu.Yes, it is very fascinating.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “anthropology” translations and entries 人類学, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
