数学
すうがく · suugaku · JLPT N4 · noun
mathematics
🧮 数学 = number (数) + study (学): the study of numbers
数 (suu) means number, as in 数字 (suuji, numeral). 学 (gaku) means study, the same ending found in 科学 (kagaku, science) and 大学 (daigaku, university). Number-study = mathematics.
数 — 婁 (lóu, phonetic) + 攵 (action radical)
数 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 攵 (a hand holding a stick) suggests an action, originally tallying or counting by striking marks. The left side 婁 supplies the sound. Over time the meaning broadened from 'to count' to 'number' and 'several'.
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'.