求学
qiúxué · HSK 7
study
🎒📚 求学 = 求 seek + 学 study; literally to seek out learning
求 means seek or pursue and 学 means study or learn, so 求学 is to go after an education — to pursue schooling. The qiú sound also opens 求职 (seek a job), the same seeking verb applied to work instead of study.
求 — pictograph of a fur garment
求 originally depicted a fur coat or pelt, with hairs hanging from the sides. It was later borrowed phonetically to mean 'seek' or 'request,' and the original 'fur' meaning was taken over by 裘. Today 求 almost always means to seek, beg, or pursue.
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'.