心理学
shinrigaku[ɕĩn̺ɾʲiɡa̠kɯ̟]
Psychology in Japanese is 心理学 (shinrigaku). Wiktionary also lists サイコロジー (saikorojī).
Meaning: study of the human mind (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 心理学 | shinrigaku | [ɕĩn̺ɾʲiɡa̠kɯ̟] (narrow) |
| サイコロジー | saikorojī | [sa̠iko̞ɾo̞ʑiː] (narrow) |
The term is used to refer to the academic discipline itself.
Which one should you use?
心理学 (shinrigaku) is the standard academic term for the study of the mind, whereas サイコロジー (saikorojī) is a phonetic loanword from English that is much less common in formal academic contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
shinrigaku
Did you know?
- The kanji 心 in 心理学 refers to 'heart' as well as 'mind', reflecting a cultural view where emotions and intellect are not strictly separated.
- Before 1877, Japanese scholars actually used the term 性理学 to translate the concept of psychology, which is quite different from the modern word.
- While サイコロジー is a direct loan from English, using it instead of 心理学 often implies a more 'pop psychology' or trendy approach rather than a clinical one.
Examples in context
- 彼女は児童心理学専攻だ。She majors in child psychology.This sentence is useful for seeing how to mention a major in a specific field using 心理学.Tatoeba #89188 by small_snow, translation #314518 by CK
- 私の母は心理学の先生です。My mother is a psychology teacher.This sentence is useful for describing someone's profession using 心理学.Tatoeba #162667 by small_snow, translation #251847 by CK
- この本は心理学を取り扱っている。This book deals with psychology.This sentence is useful for describing the subject matter of a book using 心理学.Tatoeba #219591 by bunbuku, translation #56912 by CM
- 心理学は人間の心の仕組みを研究する学問です。Psychology is the study of the mechanisms of the human mind.
- 心理学って興味深いよね。Psychology is really interesting, isn't it?
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two university students are talking about their majors in a cafe.
- 大翔 Hiroto心理学を研究しているの？Shinrigaku o kenkyu shite iru no?Are you studying psychology?
- 陽葵 Himariうん、大学で心理学を学んでいるよ。Un, daigaku de shinrigaku o manande iru yo.Yes, I am studying psychology at university.
- 大翔 Hiroto陽葵は心理学に興味があるんだね。Himari wa shinrigaku ni kyoumi ga aru nda ne.You are interested in psychology, Himari.
- 陽葵 Himariええ、とても面白い分野だと思う。Ee, totemo omoshiroi bunya da to omou.Yes, I think it is a very interesting field.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “psychology” translations and entries 心理学, サイコロジー, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries サイコロジー, 心理学, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
