大学
dàxué · HSK 1
learning
🎓 大学 = 大 (big) + 学 (study) — the 'big study' place
Compound decomposition: 大 means big/great and 学 means to study or learning. A 大学 is literally the place of 'great learning' — the standard CJK term for university across Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
学 — hands 𦥑 + roof 冖 + child 子
Originally 學, depicting two hands manipulating something (often interpreted as counting rods or the 爻 trigram symbols) under a roof, with a child 子 below — a child learning under instruction. The simplified form 学 replaces the top with a stylized 龸. Core meaning has always been 'to study, learn'.