Science

Scientific words in Japanese are built from kanji that keep their meaning, which often makes them easier to guess than their English equivalents: 惑星(わくせい) is a “wandering star”, 重力(じゅうりょく) “heavy power”, 微生物(びせいぶつ) a “tiny living thing”. The ending 〜者(しゃ) makes a person and 〜学(がく) a field of study. One pair is said exactly alike: 科学(かがく), science, and 化学(かがく), chemistry — which is why people who need to tell them apart often call chemistry ばけがく.