Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
2 senses · 4 wordsLearn and study
An educational institution or field of knowledge
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 學 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Korean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 학
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
4 direct parts- Layout
- complex
- Index radical
- 子 · 39 · 13 residual strokes
The modern character can be inspected as an upper complex region, a cover-like 冖, and 子 below. The displayed component labels describe visible groupings; they are not by themselves proof of an ancient classroom scene.
Follow the recorded parts
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
A boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
16 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences我每天學習一點中文。
我每天学习一点中文。
I study a little Chinese every day.
這所學校有一個小花園。
这所学校有一个小花园。
This school has a small garden.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
0 phonetic neighboursThis pilot does not link this character to a sound (phonetic) family. Explore the other recorded relationships below.
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsA teaching-and-counting interpretation
CUHK discusses early forms with paired hand-like shapes and elements interpreted as counting or divining implements. It reports 子 being added in bronze forms and relates the graph to learning and teaching.
An architectural alternative
The entry also presents Shirakawa Shizuka’s interpretation involving a building with crossed timbers. These are different historical proposals. The dossier has not independently checked their underlying publications, so it does not select a winner or reconstruct a classroom scene.
Reading this character · explanatory note
學 is central to words for learning and education: 學習 / 学习 is to study or learn, 學生 / 学生 is a student, and 學校 / 学校 is a school. In 科學 / 科学, the whole word means science. Its detailed upper portion invites a pictorial explanation, but the earlier evidence supports a more careful account than “a child under a roof.” CUHK discusses hand-like forms, counting or divining implements, and an alternative architectural interpretation. The historical discussion keeps those proposals attributed while the modern examples show how this character continues to organize a large vocabulary of knowledge.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
學 corresponds to simplified 学. The visible lower 子 remains, while the upper structure is reduced. Both routes share one historical dossier. The word 學生 is xuésheng in the CC-CEDICT examples here; Taiwan’s Ministry of Education gives the full-tone xuéshēng.
覺 has a similar upper region but 見 beneath it, while 學 has 子. Their similarity does not mean every modern sense or reading can be inferred from the other character.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- haewk · 胡覺 反切 · #3280
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 16883 · haewk = 江開二入江匣
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
Sources & reference
Sources & research
5 sourcesLocator & rights
Character entry; 形義通解, 繁簡對應, and cited Shuowen discussion where present · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
漢語拼音; definition 1 · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 2 items
- The counting/teaching and architectural interpretations are reported through CUHK; their original studies need direct review.
- A specimen-based history of the abbreviated 学 form remains open.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- xué,huá,jiào 21019.110
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- xué 1308.121
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- xué(5640)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- xué粵hok6