<p>If this translation is not made deliberately, it is an apparent mistake.<br>
A more proper translation will be:<br>
<strong>Living Complex for Liberal Arts Students</strong><br>
where "生活" is "live", “组团” is "complex", and "文科" is "liberal arts".<br>
I visited Nankai University's website, and found that it is a complex area with dormitories and other facilities for student's daily life.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-09T02:28:05.667Z
2017-06-09T02:28:05.667Z
Winfred Huang
<p><p>I think this is a better translation:<br/>
activity area for liberal arts students<br/>
life area for liberal arts students</p><p>I prefer to consider that 组团 is a noun here, it means block, field, area, etc, but not made up with the verb "组" (make, form) and the noun "团" (group).</p></p>

<p>I searched on the internet, I found one meaning of 组团 is:<br>
A set of several buildings, a group of construction.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-08T11:48:40.987Z
2017-09-19T10:56:29.570Z
2017-09-19T10:56:29.570Z
xenophōn
<p>At Nankai University, we have this sign:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ALqHDm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ALqHDm.jpg" alt="文科生活组团" /></a></p>
<p>It says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>文科生活组团</p>
<p>wénkē shēnghuó zǔtuán</p>
<p>humanities life block (the translation on the sign)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It breaks into <a href="http://dict.cn/%E6%96%87%E7%A7%91" rel="nofollow noreferrer">文科</a> (liberal arts) and <a href="http://dict.cn/%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">生活</a> (life) and <a href="http://dict.cn/%E7%BB%84%E5%9B%A2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">组团</a> (form a team) using the dict.cn translations.  However, it's not clear to me how these pieces fit together to form &quot;humanities life block&quot;.  Nor is it clear to me what the actual meaning is.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: How does 文科生活组团 mean &quot;humanities life block&quot; and is there a better translation?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-08T07:37:22.583Z
according to  http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2015-08/28/c_128175415.htm 文科生活组团 refers to a block of buildings housing students at 南开大学
user6065
<meaning>
How does 文科生活组团 mean "humanities life block" and is there a better translation?
# How does 文科生活组团 mean "humanities life block" and is there a better translation?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-06-08)

At Nankai University, we have this sign:

[![文科生活组团](https://i.sstatic.net/ALqHDm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/ALqHDm.jpg)

It says:

> 文科生活组团
>
> wénkē shēnghuó zǔtuán
>
> humanities life block (the translation on the sign)

It breaks into [文科](http://dict.cn/%E6%96%87%E7%A7%91) (liberal arts) and [生活](http://dict.cn/%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB) (life) and [组团](http://dict.cn/%E7%BB%84%E5%9B%A2) (form a team) using the dict.cn translations. However, it's not clear to me how these pieces fit together to form "humanities life block". Nor is it clear to me what the actual meaning is.

**Question**: How does 文科生活组团 mean "humanities life block" and is there a better translation?

**Tags:** meaning
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: according to  http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2015-08/28/c_128175415.htm 文科生活组团 refers to a block of buildings housing students at 南开大学  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-06-09. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

If this translation is not made deliberately, it is an apparent mistake.  
A more proper translation will be:  
**Living Complex for Liberal Arts Students**  
where "生活" is "live", “组团” is "complex", and "文科" is "liberal arts".  
I visited Nankai University's website, and found that it is a complex area with dormitories and other facilities for student's daily life.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2017-06-08. Score: 1

I think this is a better translation:  
activity area for liberal arts students  
life area for liberal arts students

I prefer to consider that 组团 is a noun here, it means block, field, area, etc, but not made up with the verb "组" (make, form) and the noun "团" (group).

I searched on the internet, I found one meaning of 组团 is:  
A set of several buildings, a group of construction.


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