How to Say "Biology" in Chinese

生物学

shēngwùxué

The English word "biology" is translated into Chinese as 生物学 (shēngwùxué).

生物学 is used to refer to the scientific study of living matter.

Meaning: study of living matter (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of 生物 (living organism) and 学 (study/science).

The component term 生物 (shēngwù) can be used on its own to mean 'living organism' or 'biological' in many contexts.

shēngwùxué

The character 学 in 生物学 is an abbreviated form. In traditional Chinese characters, it is written as 學, which originally depicted a child under a roof with hands holding teaching tools.
When referring to a 'biologist', Chinese speakers often add the word 学家 (xuéjiā) to the end of the field, making it 生物学家, where 家 implies a master or specialist.
The character 物 (wù) in 生物学 originally referred to a 'thing' or 'matter' and is the same character used in 物理 (physics), which literally means 'the logic of things'.

他是哈佛大学的生物学教授。
He's a professor of biology at Harvard.
This sentence is useful for seeing how to refer to a professor of 生物学.
Tatoeba #332645 by fucongcong, translation #292356 by CK
我在大学学习生物学。
I am studying biology in university.
她对生物学研究很有兴趣。
She is very interested in studying biology.
我对生命科学很感兴趣。
I am very interested in life sciences.
他在大学学习生物科学。
He is studying biological science at university.
她从小就对生物学产生了浓厚的兴趣。
Since childhood, she has had a strong interest in biology.
我喜欢生物学课。
Wǒ xǐhuān shēngwùxué kè.
I like biology class.
他在研究植物生物学。
Tā zài yánjiū zhíwù shēngwùxué.
He is studying plant biology.

Two students are discussing their college majors.

浩然 Haoran

雨婷，你大学想学什么？
Yǔtíng, nǐ dàxué xiǎng xué shénme?
Yuting, what do you want to study in college?
雨婷 Yuting

我想主修生物学。
Wǒ xiǎng zhǔxiū shēngwùxué.
I want to major in biology.
浩然 Haoran

那听起来很有挑战性。
Nà tīng qǐlái hěn yǒu tiǎozhànxìng.
That sounds very challenging.
雨婷 Yuting

是的，但我很喜欢它。
Shì de, dàn wǒ hěn xǐhuān tā.
Yes, but I really like it.

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