百科(ひゃっか)

ひゃっか
noun
encyclopedia; all branches of knowledge
mediacognitioneducation
1. encyclopedia; comprehensive reference work
a reference work containing articles on various subjects or specialized fields
百科(ひゃっか)事典(じてん)で調(しら)べた。
I looked it up in an encyclopedia.
ウィキペディアはオンライン百科(ひゃっか)事典(じてん)だ。
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia.
子供(こども)向(む)けの百科(ひゃっか)事典(じてん)を買(か)った。
I bought an encyclopedia for children.

Etymology

百科(ひゃっか) literally means 'hundred subjects' — 百(ひゃく) (hundred) + 科(か) (branch/subject). It refers to comprehensive, wide-ranging knowledge.

Compounds

  • 百科(ひゃっか)事典(じてん): encyclopedia (the standard compound)
  • 百科(ひゃっか)全書(ぜんしょ): comprehensive encyclopedia/compendium
  • 大百科(だいひゃっか): great encyclopedia

Usage

百科(ひゃっか) rarely appears alone — it almost always appears in the compound 百科(ひゃっか)事典(じてん).

Watch out

The kanji 事典(じてん) (reference work) is different from 辞典(じてん) (dictionary), though both are read じてん.

CULTURAL NOTE (well-known encyclopedias):

  • 世界大百科事典(せかいだいひゃっかじてん): World Encyclopedia
  • ブリタニカ百科(ひゃっか)事典(じてん): Encyclopædia Britannica
general
Added 2026.1.28 12:32 · Revised 2026.10.13 4:53
08500/08727_hyakka