Difference among these terms for student clubs: 队、团、俱乐部、社和兴趣小组? In regards to their meanings as &quot;student clubs&quot; (at school), are there any differences in the following words: 队、团、俱乐部、社和兴趣小组？
For me, I personally find 队 to mean clubs having to do with athletics, but I hear it used in such phrases as 数学队 (math team), 科学队 (science team) etc. I also find the other terms interchangeable, even though I often hear 团 used in clubs focused on music, and the other ones don't really seem to be oriented toward any specific subject or aspect. Can you clear up my confusion?
These words are very similar. 队 and 团 are almost the same. For example, we can call the band that attend competitions either 乐队 or 乐团; we can call a choir either 合唱队 or 合唱团. We also often put these two words together: &quot;团队,&quot; which means &quot;team&quot;. For example: 我们是一个团队。 We are a team.
If you really want tell a difference between 队 and 团, according to my feeling, a 队 may contain fewer people than 团. For example, you can call a group of 3 people 小队, but you can't call it a 团. Anyway, there are still some exceptions. You just have to remember which word goes with 队, and which word goes with 团--like in English, people have to remember to say &quot;a SCHOOL of fish&quot;, not &quot;a FLOCK of fish&quot;.
俱乐部, 社 and 兴趣小组 are different in terms of their different professional levels.
俱乐部 sounds more professional, people in 俱乐部 are mostly professional enthusiast. Example: 足球俱乐部, 电竞俱乐部
社 sounds less professional than 俱乐部. We call a school club 社, but we never call it 俱乐部. For example: 学校的音乐社 the school's music club
兴趣小组 sounds the least professional. It seems that anyone who is interested in that activity can join a 兴趣小组. They are not required to be professional players.