共学
きょうがく · kyougaku · JLPT N1 · noun
coeducation
🏫 共学 = 共 (together) + 学 (study): students learning together in one school
共 means together or shared, and 学 means study or learning. Put them together and you get boys and girls studying side by side in the same school.
共 — 两手 (廾) holding up an object
共 originally depicted two hands raised together, lifting or offering something jointly. The ancient form showed a vessel or object held up by paired hands, conveying shared action. From 'lifting together' it shifted to mean 'together,' 'common,' or 'share.'
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'.