学 (xué): to learn, to study, to imitate
学 (xué) is a Chinese character meaning “to learn.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺍ (structural), 冖 (structural) and 子 (structural). It ranks #66 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 学 a building 冖 where children 子 study; ⺍ provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 子 (child) appears in many related characters such as 子 (zǐ, son), 字 (zì, letter), 孩 (hái, (bound form) child).
Definitions
- to learn
- to study
- to imitate
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA building 冖 where children 子 study; ⺍ provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿱⿱⺍冖子 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 学 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 学
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 学校noun | xué xiào | school | 1 |
| 大学noun | dà xué | university | 1 |
| 学生noun | xué sheng | student | 1 |
| 学习verb | xué xí | to learn | 1 |
| 科学noun/adjective | kē xué | science | 4 |
| 上学verb | shàng xué | to go to school | 1 |
| 学会noun | xué huì | to learn | 6 |
| 同学noun | tóng xué | to study at the same school | 1 |
| 学院noun | xué yuàn | college | 4 |
| 数学noun | shù xué | mathematics | 3 |
| 医学noun | yī xué | medicine | 5 |
| 化学noun | huà xué | chemistry | 5 |
| 放学verb | fàng xué | to dismiss students at the end of the school day | 3 |
| 奖学金noun | jiǎng xué jīn | scholarship | 4 |
| 中学noun | zhōng xué | middle school | 1 |
| 学期noun | xué qī | term | 3 |
| 学位noun | xué wèi | academic degree | 6 |
| 小学noun | xiǎo xué | elementary school | 1 |
| 文学noun | wén xué | literature | 5 |
| 学费noun | xué fèi | tuition fee | 4 |
| 大学生noun | dà xué shēng | university student | 1 |
| 哲学noun | zhé xué | philosophy | 5 |
| 学者noun | xué zhě | scholar | 5 |
| 教学noun | jiāo xué | to teach | 4 |
| 学员noun | xué yuán | student | 6 |
| 入学verb | rù xué | to enter a school or college | 4 |
| 学术noun | xué shù | learning | 5 |
| 开学verb | kāi xué | (of a student) to start school | 2 |
| 学历noun | xué lì | educational background | 5 |
| 学分noun | xué fēn | course credit | 5 |
| 小学生noun | xiǎo xué shēng | primary school student | 1 |
| 中学生noun | zhōng xué shēng | middle-school student | 1 |
| 学问noun | xué wèn | learning | 6 |
| 学科noun | xué kē | subject | 5 |
| 自学verb | zì xué | self-study | 4 |
| 学年noun | xué nián | academic year | 5 |
| 留学verb | liú xué | to study abroad | 3 |
| 升学verb | shēng xué | to enter the next grade school | 6 |
| 留学生noun | liú xué shēng | student studying abroad | 3 |
| 好学verb | hǎo xué | easy to learn | 6 |
学 appears in 139 compound words: 32 as the first character, 52 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 学 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (59)
to be tactless due to the lack of knowledge; without learning or skills; to be not keen on learning anything
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), a public research university in Tainan, Taiwan
to be tactless due to the lack of knowledge; without learning or skills; to be not keen on learning anything
Showing 12 of 59 idioms containing 学.
Example Sentences
他在大学期间学的是计算机专业，现在从事软件开发工作。
Tā zài dàxué qījiān xué de shì jìsuànjī zhuānyè, xiànzài cóngshì ruǎnjiàn kāifā gōngzuò.
He studied computer science in college and is now engaged in software development work.
2025年收获满满,山东信息职业技术学院向合作单位..
nián shōu huò mǎn mǎn , shān dōng xìn xī zhí yè jì shù xué yuàn xiàng gě zuò shàn wèi . .
2025: A Year of Abundant Harvests Shandong Information Vocational College extends its gratitude to partner institutions...
首次举办新春市集,大学路迎来“最热闹的春节”
shǒu cì jǔ bàn xīn chūn shì jí , dà xué lù yíng lái zuì rè nào de chūn jié
University Road Hosts Its First-Ever Spring Festival Market, Marking Its "Livelyest Lunar New Year"
浙江省政府批复同意!宁波一大学将设新学院
zhè jiāng shěng zhèng fǔ pī fù tóng yì ! nìng bō yī dà xué jiāng shè xīn xué yuàn
Zhejiang Provincial Government Approves! A New College to Be Established at a University in Ningbo
青岛恒星科技学院:产教融合协同出海,绘就全球化新图..
qīng dǎo héng xīng kē jì xué yuàn chǎn jiào róng gě xié tóng chū hǎi , huì jiù quán qiú huā xīn tú . .
Qingdao Hengxing University of Science and Technology: Integrating Industry and Education for Collaborative Global Expansion, Charting a New Course for Globalization...
科学内调成美肤新刚需,肌原光以“产学研”硬实...
kē xué nèi diào chéng měi fū xīn gāng xū , jī yuán guāng yǐ chǎn xué yán yìng shí . . .
Scientific internal regulation emerges as the new essential for beautiful skin, with Jiyuan Guang leveraging robust industry-academia-research collaboration...
这是去牛津大学的车吗？
Zhè shì qù Niújīn Dàxué de chē ma?
Is this the bus to Oxford?
那个学生跑得很快，不是吗？
Nèige xuésheng pǎo de hěn kuài, bù shì ma?
That student runs fast, doesn't he?
你的学校在这个城市吗？
Nǐ de xuéxiào zài zhège chéngshì ma?
Is your school in this town?
你现在该上学去了吧？
Nǐ xiànzài gāi shàngxué qù le ba?
It's high time you left for school, isn't it?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 学 (xué) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 学 and 教?
How many strokes does 学 have?
What is the radical of 学?
What are the components of 学?
What are common words containing 学?
What characters sound the same as 学 (xué)?
Is 学 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 学 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.