1.
geography (academic discipline)
The academic study of the earth's physical features, climate, population, and the relationships between people and their environments.
大学で地理学を専攻している。
I'm majoring in geography at university.
地理学は自然と人間の関係を研究する学問だ。
Geography is a discipline that studies the relationship between nature and humans.
近年、地理学は都市計画や防災など実践的な分野でも注目されている。
In recent years, geography has been gaining attention in practical fields such as urban planning and disaster prevention.
A compound of 地理 (geography, topography) and 学 (study, discipline). 地理学 is the formal academic term, while 地理 alone is used more casually for geography as a school subject.
In Japanese high schools, geography is grouped under 社会 (social studies) alongside 歴史 (history) and 公民 (civics).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 地理学者: geographer
- 人文地理学: human geography
- 自然地理学: physical geography
- 地理学科: geography department
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 地理: geography — the everyday or school-subject term, while 地理学 emphasizes the academic discipline
- 地学: earth science — a broader field including geology, meteorology, and astronomy
- 地質学: geology — the study of rocks, minerals, and earth's structure