学ぶ
まなぶ · manabu · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to study
📚 manabu comes from manebu, to imitate: learning starts as copying
学ぶ (manabu) and 真似る (maneru, to mimic) share an old root, manebu. In Japanese tradition, you learned a craft by copying your teacher. The kanji 学 is the same one in 学生 (student) and 学校 (school).
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'.