Chinese word

文科

Pronunciation

Pinyinwén kē

Meaning

  • nounliberal arts

Example

你打算选文科还是理科？nǐ dǎ suàn xuǎn wén kē hái shì lǐ kē

Do you plan to choose liberal arts or science?

Illustration for 文科 (liberal arts)

More examples

很多职业要求有文科背景。hěn duō zhí yè yāo qiú yǒu wén kē bèi jǐng

Many careers require a liberal arts background.

Core concept

A field of study centered on people, culture, language, society, and the ideas that shape them.

Common phrases

  • 主修文科zhǔ xiū wén kē

    major in liberal arts

  • 修读文科课程xiū dú wén kē kè chéng

    study liberal arts courses

  • 文科背景wén kē bèi jǐng

    liberal arts background

  • 文科知识wén kē zhī shí

    liberal arts knowledge

Similar words

理科lǐ kē: A broad field of study focused on mathematics and natural phenomena, including physics and chemistry.

Definition in Chinese

指以文学、历史、哲学、语言、艺术与社会科学等人文类学科为主的学科类别。zhǐ yǐ wén xué lì shǐ zhé xué yǔ yán yì shù yǔ shè huì kē xué děng rén wén lèi xué kē wéi zhǔ de xué kē lèi bié

Word origin

文科 (wénkē, "liberal arts") joins 文 (wén, "writing and culture") with 科 (kē, "branch of study"), naming a branch of learning built around human and cultural subjects.

Usage tips

  • In Chinese school choices, this word often names an entire academic track, so it can cover several subjects rather than one course and commonly contrasts with the science track.

Other meanings

  • humanitiesnoun

Opposites

  • 理科lǐ kēsciencenoun
  • 理科生lǐ kē shēngscience studentnoun

Related words

  • 文科生wén kē shēngliberal arts studentnoun

Word lists with this word