学堂
xué táng · HSK 7
school
🏫 学堂 = study (学) + hall (堂) = a hall for learning, an old word for school
学 means to study or learn; 堂 is a hall or main room. Together a learning-hall: the old term for a school or college before 学校 became standard.
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'.
堂 — earth 土 + phonetic 尚
A semantic-phonetic compound: 土 ('earth/ground') gives the meaning, while 尚 supplies the sound. It originally referred to a raised earthen platform or the main hall of a building built on such a foundation. From there it broadened to mean 'hall', 'main room', and by extension formal gatherings or halls of learning.