Meaning of 自学
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- self-study
- to study on one's own
How to use 自学
自学 is used for learning a subject without formal classes, and it often takes an object directly. It also appears in phrases like 自学成才 (zìxué chéngcái), to become skilled through self-study. Example: 他自学了日语。(Tā zìxué le Rìyǔ.) He taught himself Japanese.
自 (zì) means self, and 学 (xué) means to study, so 自学 is simply studying by yourself. Picture yourself at your own desk with no teacher, learning from a book.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 我自己学习自学, doubling the idea of self. 自学 already includes 自己 (zìjǐ), so just say 我自学中文. Also keep the tones clear: zì is fourth tone and xué is second tone.
自学 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
自 zì · self · 6 strokes
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学 xué · to learn · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 自学.
| 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 自学
What does 自学 mean?
自学 (zìxué) means "self-study; to study on one's own" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 自学?
自学 is made of 2 characters: 自 (6 strokes), 学 (8 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 自学 an HSK word?
Yes. 自学 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 自学 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 自学 is written 自學.
What is the difference between 自学 and 学习?
学习 (xuéxí) is the general word for studying or learning in any setting. 自学 specifically means learning on your own, outside a classroom or without a teacher.
Can 自学 be used as a noun?
Yes. It can describe the activity itself, as in 自学很难 (zìxué hěn nán), self-study is hard. It also modifies nouns, as in 自学能力 (zìxué nénglì), the ability to study independently.