Hi, I would like to know the difference between Gaku (学) and Kagaku (化学). I think they both mean science, are they synonyms or do they have different meanings?
Yes that's right, I got confused, I meant to say Kagaku (科学) which means science. I know Gaku (学) has many meanings, but one of them means science. But I think each one is used in a different context and I would like to understand it better.
Ah, I see. While 科学 is "science" as a common noun, 学 means "science" as a suffix (e.g. 歴史学: "historical science", 医学 "medical science"). Thus, it's closer to "-ology" or "-ics" in English. 学 doesn't mean "science" as a single kanji.
Oh, I see. And all the meanings that 学 has (study, science, learning, knowledge, etc) can only be used as a suffix or is there any particular case in which only the kanji 学 can be used as a complete word?