Definition
范畴 (fàn chóu) is a formal, academic term for 'category' or 'domain', used in philosophy, logic, and linguistics to refer to fundamental conceptual groupings. It is more abstract and theoretical than 范围 (fàn wéi 'range/scope') and broader than 领域 (lǐng yù 'field/domain of expertise'). Unlike 类别 (lèi bié 'classification'), 范畴 emphasizes the systematic framework of a discipline.
noun
(philosophy, logic) categoryfundamental grouping that defines a field of inquiry(linguistics) grammatical categorydomainscope of a concept or discipline
Easily confused
- 犯愁fàn chóusound-aliketo worry, to be anxious
Examples
- 范畴。Shíjiān hé kōngjiān shì zhéxué de jīběn fàn chóu.Time and space are fundamental categories of philosophy.
- 范畴。Dòngcí de shítài shǔyú yǔfǎ fàn chóu.Verb tense belongs to the grammatical category.
- 范畴。Zhè liǎng gè wèntí bù shǔyú tóng yí gè fàn chóu.These two questions do not belong to the same category.
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