Доктор or врач?


Are the two words interchangeable?

доктор
врач

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agustin | 0 points - almost 5 years ago

Врач is always доктор, but доктор might not be врач (for instance, доктор наук - Doctor of Science)

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agustin | 0 points - almost 5 years ago

Доктор and врач are not completely interchangeable. When talking to a doctor you can call him доктор but never врач. Доктор also means a scientific degree (not only medical), while врач means doctor of medicine.

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kasi_kuhn | 0 points - almost 5 years ago

Those two words have different origin.

Врач is an old Russian word but доктор derives from Latin (that’s why it’s the same as in English and other Romanic languages)
And indeed, as noticed above, PhD is a доктор too.

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marianne | 0 points - almost 5 years ago

When you are talking about a doctor of medicine it is usually врач unless you are addressing him or her directly:
Доктор, я умру? (not Врач, я умру?)

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