学 meaning in English

xué

to learn; to study

HSK 1verbTraditional 學8 strokes

Meaning of 学

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

xué

to learn
to study
to imitate
science
-ology

How to use 学

学 (xué) is a verb meaning to learn or study, and it often takes a direct object like a language or skill. It also appears in many school words such as 学校 (xuéxiào) school and 学生 (xuéshēng) student, and as a suffix for fields of study, like 数学 (shùxué) mathematics. Example: 我学中文。(Wǒ xué Zhōngwén.) I study Chinese.

The bottom of 学 is 子 (zǐ), a child, and the top looks like a roof with marks above it. Picture a child under a school roof, busy learning.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 学 with 字 (zì, character), since both have 子 at the bottom. 学 has three short strokes above a roof with a hook, while 字 has only a dot over a plain roof 宀.

学 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

Tom 需xū要yào学xué会huì为wèi自zì己jǐ着zhuó想xiǎng。

Tom needs to learn to think for himself.

你nǐ该gāi上shàng学xué去qù了le，不bú是shì吗ma？

It's high time you left for school, isn't it?

我wǒ是shì学xué生shēng，但dàn是shì他tā不bú是shì。

I'm a student, but he isn't.

你nǐ只zhǐ不bù过guò是shì一yí个gè学xué生shēng。

You're nothing but a student.

我wǒ是shì个gè学xué生shēng，但dàn他tā不bú是shì。

I am a student, but he isn't.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

学 xué · to learn · 8 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 学.

学校	xuéxiào	school
学生	xuéshēng	student; schoolchild
大学	dàxué	university; college
学习	xuéxí	to learn; to study
同学	tóngxué	to study at the same school; fellow student
上学	shàngxué	to go to school; to attend school
学院	xuéyuàn	college; educational institute
中学	zhōngxué	middle school
放学	fàngxué	to dismiss students at the end of the school day
小学	xiǎoxué	elementary school; primary school
大学生	dàxuéshēng	university student; college student
小学生	xiǎoxuéshēng	primary school student; schoolchild

Questions about 学

What does 学 mean?

学 (xué) means "to learn; to study" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 学?

学 is made of 1 character: 学 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.

Is 学 an HSK word?

Yes. 学 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 学 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 学 is written 學.

What is the difference between 学 and 学习?

Both mean to learn or study. 学 is short and usually takes an object directly, as in 学游泳 (xué yóuyǒng) learn to swim. 学习 (xuéxí) sounds more formal and often stands alone, as in 他很努力学习 (tā hěn nǔlì xuéxí) he studies hard.

Can 学 mean to copy or imitate someone?

Yes. 学 can mean to imitate, for example 他学猫叫 (tā xué māo jiào) he imitates a cat meowing. The context makes it clear whether it means study or mimic.