Meaning
研究生 refers to students pursuing advanced degrees beyond a bachelor's degree, including both master's (硕士) and doctoral (博士) programs. The term literally means 'research student' and encompasses anyone engaged in postgraduate studies at a university.
Usage
Commonly used in academic contexts to refer to graduate students. In Chinese universities, 研究生 is the general term that covers both master's students and PhD candidates. Often paired with 考 (kǎo) when discussing entrance exams, as in 考研究生. Can be shortened to 研究 in very casual speech among students.
Examples
- 01她正在准备考研究生。.She is preparing to take the graduate school entrance exam.
- 02我哥哥是北京大学的研究生。.My older brother is a graduate student at Peking University.
Characters
Measure words
- 个三个研究生
- 名一名研究生
Common collocations
- 考研究生to take the graduate school entrance exam
- 研究生院graduate school
- 在读研究生current graduate student
- 研究生导师graduate advisor
Origin
The compound 研究 means 'research' or 'to study in depth,' combining characters for grinding/refining and investigating. Adding 生 (student) creates 'student who does research,' reflecting the nature of graduate education.