博士 meaning in English
doctor (as an academic degree); (old) person specialized in a skill or trade
Meaning of 博士
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- doctor (as an academic degree)
- (old) person specialized in a skill or trade
- (old) court academician
How to use 博士
博士 is used for a doctoral degree or the person who holds one, and it can follow a surname as a title, like 王博士 (Wáng bóshì) Dr. Wang. Example: 她在北京大学读博士。(Tā zài Běijīng Dàxué dú bóshì.) She is doing her PhD at Peking University.
博 (bó) means broad or extensive, and 士 (shì) is a scholar or learned person. A 博士 is a scholar whose learning is broad and deep, which is why it names the highest academic degree.
Common mistake: Learners often use 博士 for a medical doctor, but a physician is 医生 (yīshēng) or 大夫 (dàifu). Also watch the tone on 博, which is second tone bó, not bō or bò.
博士 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
博 bó · to gamble · 12 strokes
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士 shì · scholar · 3 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 博士.
| 女士 | nǚshì | lady; madam |
| 士兵 | shìbīng | soldier |
| 护士 | hùshi | nurse |
| 战士 | zhànshì | fighter; soldier |
| 巴士 | bāshì | bus (loanword); motor coach |
| 男士 | nánshì | man; gentleman |
| 博物馆 | bówùguǎn | museum |
| 人士 | rénshì | person; figure |
| 博客 | bókè | (loanword) a blog; a blogger |
| 微博 | wēibó | microblogging; microblog |
| 硕士 | shuòshì | master's degree; person who has a master's degree |
| 博览会 | bólǎnhuì | an exposition; an international fair |
Questions about 博士
What does 博士 mean?
博士 (bóshì) means "doctor (as an academic degree); (old) person specialized in a skill or trade" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 博士?
博士 is made of 2 characters: 博 (12 strokes), 士 (3 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 博士 an HSK word?
Yes. 博士 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say master's degree and bachelor's degree in Chinese?
A master's degree is 硕士 (shuòshì) and a bachelor's degree is 学士 (xuéshì). Together with 博士, all three degree names end in 士.
What is the difference between 读博士 and 博士生?
读博士 (dú bóshì) is a verb phrase meaning to study for a PhD. 博士生 (bóshìshēng) is a noun for a PhD student, while 博士 alone usually means someone who already holds the degree.