Compare AMATEUR vs NOVICE – Empower Your Vocabulary

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AMATEUR vs NOVICE – What’s the Difference?

Which word, amateur vs novice? This video will explain the difference using illustrated sentence examples, therefore helping you to speak English clearly and accurately.

Slide 1:
Hello, I’m David James.

Slide 2:
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Slide 3:
Amateur vs Novice
Now in today’s lesson, we are going to explain the difference between an “AMATEUR” and a “NOVICE”? So, let’s start.

Amateur vs Novice Definitions

Slide 4:
An amateur is a person who engages in a particular activity such as one of the arts, sports, science, etc. as an interest or hobby rather than a profession.

However,

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A novice is a beginner, a person new to a particular field or activity. Let’s look at some examples . . .

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Firstly, the picture shows a young Japanese girl holding a violin.

The sentence example reads:
Although Kyoko is still an amateur violinist, she aspires to be a professional in the near future.

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To clarify, at present Kyoko plays the violin for pleasure, as a hobby, but in the future it is her goal to become a professional musician and make it her career.

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Secondly, the picture shows a little boy swinging a golf club on the front lawn of his house.

The sentence example reads:
Seeing he was only a novice, he did very well today.

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In other words, in view of the fact this little boy has only just started playing golf, he played very well today.

Two more examples:

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The next picture shows a photograph of a field of bright blue flowers.

The sentence example reads:
Although Karen is still an amateur photographer, the quality of her work is excellent.

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In other words, looking at the quality of Karen’s photography, you might think she does this for a living. However, she does it as a hobby in her spare time.

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In the next picture, we see a TV studio and presenters interviewing a financial advisor.

The sentence example reads:
Many novice investors follow the advice of financial advisors like Keith Springer.

Slide 13:
To clarify, many people who are new to money management and investing rely on the advice of professionals such as Keith Springer.

Another way to use AMATEUR

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Most importantly:
An amateur can also refer to a person who does not do quality work, even if they are a professional! In this case, we can use it as an adjective and say the person’s work is very amateurish. For example . . .

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The picture shows some electrical wiring which is uncovered and untidy.

The sentence example reads:
This electrician’s work was so amateurish we will call someone else next time!

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That is to say, even though the electrician does this work for a living, the standard and quality of his work is poor and lacks skill.

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So in conclusion: Avoid confusing an amateur with a novice.
For example, a person may have been playing golf for years but still be an amateur as they have not decided or desired to become a professional in the sport.
On the other hand, a person who has just started playing golf would rightly be referred to as a novice, a beginner.

As a result of knowing the difference between amateur vs novice, you will now identify opportunities to use these words in your daily conversation and put them into long-term memory.

In the same vein, you may also be interested in this page: “MUTUAL vs COMMON”

Slide 18:
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