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专科 (zhuān kē) — specialized subject; medical specialty; branch (of study or medicine); specialized training school; (in China) junior college

Definition

专科 names a specialized field of study or a medical specialty, and in China also refers to a junior college (a two- or three-year diploma-level school). It is narrower than 专业 ('major / specialty'), which is the general term for one's academic field.

noun
specialized subjectmedical specialtybranch (of study or medicine)specialized training school(in China) junior college

Examples

  • 专科。
    Tā xiǎng chéng wéi yì míng zhuān kē yī shēng.
    He wants to become a specialist doctor.
  • 专科？
    Nǐ dà xué xiǎng xué shén me zhuān kē?
    What specialized subject do you want to study in college?
  • 。
    Tā zài zhè suǒ zhuān kē xué xiào dú le sān nián.
    He studied at this junior college for three years.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

专zhuānspecialized
科kēsubject

专 means specialized and 科 means subject or department, so together they name a specialized subject.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 專; 专 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 專 shows 又, a hand, turning 叀, a spindle; this came to mean gathering several things into one.

Open 专 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斗斗dòumeasuring tool
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé科kē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

Open 科 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6School & Education

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