学
xué · HSK 1
learn
📚 学 = 子 (child) under a roof with hands learning — etymology of 'study'
Top shows hands over crossed sticks (a counting/teaching frame); the 冖 covers a 子 (child) beneath. A child being taught under a roof — the classic shape behind 'learn, study'.
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'.