进修
jìnxiū · HSK 7
engage in advanced studies
🎓📚 进修 = 进 (advance) + 修 (cultivate/study) = advance your studies
进 means to enter or advance; 修 means to cultivate or repair (as in 修理). Together: advancing your training, like a refresher or further-education course taken after the basics.
进 — walk radical 辶 + well 井
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: the walking radical 辶 gives the meaning of movement, while 井 (jǐng, 'well') supplied the sound. The traditional form 進 used 隹 (short-tailed bird) suggesting forward flight; the simplified 进 swapped 隹 for the simpler phonetic 井. The core meaning 'to advance, enter' has stayed stable.
修 — 亻 person + 攸 (phonetic) + 彡 hair/decoration
修 combines 攸 (a phonetic component originally showing a person being washed) with 彡, which depicts flowing hair or ornamental strokes. The 彡 element suggests grooming, polishing, or adorning, giving 修 its core meaning of cultivating, repairing, or refining oneself or things.