AMATEUR vs NOVICE – What’s the Difference?

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AMATEUR vs NOVICE – What’s the Difference?

"Turn Scrolling into Earning: Get Paid to Share on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!"

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 and 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,

Slide 5:
A novice is a beginner, a person new to a particular field or activity. Let’s look at some examples . . .

Slide 6:
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.

Slide 7:
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.

Slide 8:
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.

Slide 9:
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:

Slide 10:
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.

Slide 11:
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.

Slide 12:
In the next picture, we see a TV studio and presenters interviewing a financial advisor.

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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

Slide 14:
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 . . .

Slide 15:
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!

Slide 16:
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.

Slide 17:
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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