教室
きょうしつ · kyoushitsu · JLPT N5 · noun
classroom
🏫 教室 = teach (教) + room (室): the teaching room
教 (kyō) means teach, as in 教育 education and 教師 teacher. 室 (shitsu) means room, as in 寝室 bedroom and 浴室 bathroom. Any 〜室 word names a room by its purpose, so 教室 is literally the room for teaching.
教 — 老 (filial son being taught) + 攵 (hand with stick)
教 originally depicted an adult holding a stick or rod (攵) instructing a child, often shown with the element 爻 (lessons/counting) above 子 (child). It is a classic associative compound meaning 'to teach' or 'to instruct,' with the right side suggesting discipline and guidance. The modern meanings 'teach, religion, doctrine' all extend from this image of formal instruction.
室 — roof 宀 + arrive 至
A semantic compound: 宀 (roof/house) over 至 (to arrive). The image is a place one arrives at and stays in — an inner room. From 'inner chamber' the meaning broadened to 'room' generally, and by extension to specialized rooms like an office or laboratory.