学徒 (xué tú) — apprentice (a person learning a trade under a s…

Definition

noun

apprentice (a person learning a trade under a skilled worker)trainee (in vocational or industrial settings)

Measure word · 个

学徒。
Tā shí liù suì jiù kāi shǐ dāng xué tú le.
He started as an apprentice at the age of sixteen.
学徒。
Zhè wèi lǎo gōng jiàng shōu le sān gè xué tú.
This old craftsman took on three apprentices.
学徒。
Xiàn zài hěn duō gōng chǎng dōu zhāo pìn xué tú.
Nowadays many factories recruit apprentices.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

徒túapprentice

学 means learning and 徒 means a disciple or apprentice, so the parts build the idea of a learner.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

土

Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Appears in