學 meaning and stroke order
Learning, knowledge, science; to study, to go to school; -ology
How to write 學, stroke by stroke
16 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
Meaning of 學
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to learn
- to study
- to imitate
- science
- -ology
How 學 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A building 冖 where children 子 study.
Radical: 子 (son), shared by 30 characters on this site.
How to remember 學
Picture a child 子 sitting under a roof 冖, with the busy strokes on top as hands and lessons being passed down. A child under a roof, being taught, is someone who is learning.
學 (xué) means to study or learn, and it appears in many school words like 學校 (xuéxiào) school and 學生 (xuéshēng) student. It can also mean to imitate, and as a suffix it means a field of study, like -ology. Example: 我在學中文。(Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén.) I am learning Chinese.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 學 with 覺 (jué, to feel), since both share the same complex top. Check the bottom: 學 has 子 (child), while 覺 has 見 (to see). Also keep the second tone in xué and do not say xuě, which means snow (雪).
Common words with 學
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 學校 | xuéxiào | school | HSK 1 |
| 學生 | xuéshēng | student; schoolchild | HSK 1 |
| 大學 | dàxué | university; college | HSK 1 |
| 學習 | xuéxí | to learn; to study | HSK 1 |
| 同學 | tóngxué | to study at the same school; fellow student | HSK 1 |
| 上學 | shàngxué | to go to school; to attend school | HSK 1 |
| 學院 | xuéyuàn | college; educational institute | HSK 1 |
| 中學 | zhōngxué | middle school | HSK 1 |
| 放學 | fàngxué | to dismiss students at the end of the school day | HSK 1 |
| 小學 | xiǎoxué | elementary school; primary school | HSK 1 |
| 大學生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student | HSK 1 |
| 小學生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild | HSK 1 |
| 中學生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student | HSK 1 |
| 教學樓 | jiàoxuélóu | school building; academic building | HSK 1 |
Questions about 學
How many strokes are in 學?
學 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 學 mean?
學 (xué) means learning, knowledge, science; to study, to go to school; -ology. A common word with it is 学校 (xuéxiào), meaning "school".
How do you pronounce 學?
學 is pronounced xué, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 學?
The radical of 學 is 子, which carries the idea of "son". Dictionaries list 學 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 學?
學 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 学, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 學 and 學習?
學 alone is short and common in speech, as in 學開車 (xué kāichē) to learn to drive. 學習 (xuéxí) sounds a bit more formal and complete, and it is often used for studying in general, as in 好好學習 (hǎohǎo xuéxí) study hard.
How does 學 work as -ology?
Add 學 after a subject to name an academic field. For example, 數學 (shùxué) is mathematics and 生物學 (shēngwùxué) is biology.