Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 歷史學 / 历史学 | lìshǐxué | |
| 歷史學 / 历史学 | le̍k-sú-ha̍k | Hokkien |
History as a branch of knowledge is expressed through several terms. The most common way to say history in both written and spoken Chinese is 历史. For the academic discipline specifically, you can use 史学 or 歷史學 / 历史学. The character 史 can also stand alone or be combined with other words to denote history. In formal contexts, the word 历程 can be used to express the concept of history as a course or process.
Which one should you use?
While 历史 is the most widely used term for history generally, 史学 and 歷史學 / 历史学 specifically refer to the academic discipline of history. Additionally, 历程 focuses on the course or process of events, which can be used to convey the idea of history in formal settings.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form истори is used in Dungan, while the form 歷史學 / 历史学 is used in Hokkien.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for 歷史學 / 历史学 is le̍k-sú-ha̍k.
Did you know?
- Dungan is a variety of Chinese spoken in Central Asia that uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which is why 'history' appears as истори instead of characters.
- Chinese historians traditionally categorized history into 'official histories' 正史 and 'private histories' 野史, the latter of which were often viewed as anecdotal or unreliable.
- The character 史 (shǐ) originally referred to a scribe or a person responsible for recording official annals, rather than the concept of the past itself.
Examples in context
- 中国历史悠久而丰富。China has a long and rich history.
- 他是历史学专业的学生。He is a student majoring in history.
- 这本书记录了人类历史的重要事件。This book documents significant events in human history.
- 昨天我读了一段很有趣的历史。Yesterday, I read an interesting piece of history.
- 你知道古代中国的历史吗？Do you know the history of ancient China?
- 他讲了一个有关家族历史的故事。He told a story about the family history.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “history” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
