科学（かがく、kagaku）
- science

The Japanese word 科学, read as かがく (kagaku), means "science". It refers to the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. 科学 encompasses a broad range of disciplines, including biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. It is about understanding how things work and why things happen.

⚫︎科学の授業 Translation: Science class ⚫︎科学技術 Translation: Science and technology ⚫︎彼は科学者だ。 Translation: He is a scientist.

You use 科学 when talking about science as a subject, field of study, or the general concept of scientific knowledge. It can be used in various contexts, such as discussing academic disciplines, scientific discoveries, or the application of scientific principles. You can use it in both formal and informal conversations.

科学 is written in kanji, hiragana, or katakana. ⚫︎Kanji: 科学 ⚫︎Hiragana: かがく ⚫︎Katakana: 科学 (rarely used, usually for emphasis or foreign science terms) There are no variations in the okurigana.

There aren't direct synonyms for 科学 in the same way as other words, but words related to science can be considered similar depending on the context. ⚫︎学問 (gakumon) - academic discipline, study ⚫︎理科 (rika) - natural science (specifically in school) ⚫︎サイエンス (saiensu) - science (loanword, sometimes used for emphasis)

There aren't direct antonyms for 科学, but concepts that are often contrasted with 科学 could include: ⚫︎非科学 (hisci) - non-science ⚫︎疑似科学 (gijikagaku) - pseudoscience ⚫︎オカルト (okaruto) - occultism, the occult

私は大学で科学を専攻したい。 ・Translation: I want to major in science at university. ・Explanation: This sentence expresses a desire to study science as a major in higher education.

この研究は、最新の科学的知見に基づいている。 ・Translation: This research is based on the latest scientific findings. ・Explanation: This sentence explains that research utilizes current scientific information.

The word 科学 is a Sino-Japanese word, a combination of the Chinese characters 科(ka) meaning "category" or "discipline," and 学(gaku) meaning "study" or "learning." This word structure reflects the systematic approach to learning that characterizes science. It was adopted and adapted into Japanese to represent the Western concept of science during the Meiji period.