留学生
liúxuéshēng · HSK 2
student studying abroad
🎓✈️ 留学生 = stay + study + student (one who stays abroad to study)
Compound breakdown: 留 (liú, stay/remain) + 学 (xué, study) + 生 (shēng, student). Literally a student who stays away to study — the standard term for someone doing their education in a foreign country.
留 — 卯 (top) + 田 (field)
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 田 (field) suggests staying on the land, with 卯 hinting at the sound. Over time it came to mean 'remain, stay, keep,' as in keeping someone on the land or holding something in place. Modern uses include 留学 (study abroad) and 保留 (retain).
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'.
生 — sprout 屮 above earth 土
Originally a pictograph showing a young plant sprouting from the ground, with 屮 (a sprout) above 土 (earth). The core meaning is 'to be born, to grow, to live,' which extends to 'raw, unripe, unfamiliar.' The modern form has simplified the sprout shape but preserves the image of new growth emerging from soil.