■ radical
xué
learning
How it’s built
Originally composed of the numbers five (㐅) and six (六), representing study of arithmetic. Later two hands (又) were added on the left and right side of the character, possibly depicting counting with fingers or hands-on teaching. Finally a child (子) was added to the bottom, depicting a child being educated. The bottom part of 六 (six) was reanalyzed as 宀 (roof) and interpreted as a building for learning.
Through the ages
Appears in
Characters that use 學 as a component, most common first.