‘园艺’ (yuán yì) literally combines ‘园’ (yuán), meaning ‘garden’ or ‘orchard’, and ‘艺’ (yì), meaning ‘art’, ‘skill’, or ‘craft’. Together, the term refers to the science and practice of cultivating plants—especially for ornamental, medicinal, or food purposes—in gardens, greenhouses, or landscapes. It emphasizes both aesthetic design and practical horticultural techniques like pruning, grafting, soil management, and pest control.

Unlike general ‘gardening’, which often implies casual home cultivation, ‘园艺’ carries a more formal, professional, or academic connotation—it’s used in contexts like university programs (e.g., 园艺专业), agricultural research, botanical gardens, and landscaping businesses. It overlaps with botany and agriculture but focuses specifically on cultivated plants in managed environments rather than wild flora or large-scale field crops.