研究所

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 研究所 is a noun read けんきゅうじょ, referring to a research institute or laboratory that systematically studies a field.
• Basic usage: It can identify the subject studied by a workplace or describe the location where a research facility was built.
  • 兄は食品を調べる研究所で働いている。 says that an older brother works at a research institute that studies food; 山の近くに小さな研究所が建てられた。 describes a small laboratory being built near a mountain.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 研究所で働く
  • で marks the institute as the place of work, while 食品を調べる describes what the institute studies.
• 研究所が建てられた
  • The passive form makes the small institute what was built, and 山の近くに marks its location.
• 研究所 and 研究室
  • 研究所 denotes a research institution or facility as a whole, while 研究室 can refer to an individual laboratory room or research group within one.