Sinology

American  

[sahy-nol-uh-jee, si-] / saɪˈnɒl ə dʒi, sɪ- /

noun

1. the study of the language, literature, history, customs, etc., of China.

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Sinology British  

/ ˌsɪn-, ˌsaɪnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˈsaɪnəˌlɒɡ, sɪ-, saɪˈnɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the study of Chinese history, language, culture, etc

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Other Word Forms

• Sinological adjective
• Sinologist noun
• Sinologue noun

Etymology

Origin of Sinology

1880–85; Sino- + -logy; compare French, German sinologie

Example Sentences

“The official Chinese statement on the call was fairly upbeat, and the comments about Taiwan weren’t aggressive,” says Andy Rothman, head of China-focused research firm Sinology LLC.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

Before that, he studied Sinology and journalism in Munich; Xian, China; and Taipei, Taiwan.

From Washington Post • Nov. 12, 2020

Kircher’s dozens of books — totaling some seven million words in Latin — covered optics, magnetism, geology, volcanology, medicine, archaeology, acoustics, Sinology and much, much more.

From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2012

Under the December 2009 agreement, Hanban donated $1 million for conferences and other programs, $1 million for two graduate fellowships, and $2 million for a Confucius Institute Professorship in Sinology.

From BusinessWeek • Nov. 2, 2011

Sinology, the science treating of the language, literature, laws, and history of the Chinese.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin