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求学 (qiú xué) — to study, to pursue an education (especially formal or higher education); to attend school or university (formal)

Definition

求学 emphasizes the goal of pursuing education, often in a formal or literary register. Unlike 就读 (which specifies the institution where one studies), 求学 focuses on the act of seeking knowledge itself.

verb
to studyto pursue an education (especially formal or higher education)to attend school or university (formal)

Examples

  • 求学。
    Tā wèi le qiú xué qù le běi jīng.
    He went to Beijing to pursue his studies.
  • 求学。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù lì zhì qiú xué.
    She determined from a young age to pursue knowledge.
  • ，求学。
    Zài zhè suǒ dà xué, xué shēng kě yǐ zhuān xīn qiú xué.
    At this university, students can concentrate on their studies.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

求qiúseek
学xuélearning

求 means to seek and 学 means learning, so 求学 refers to pursuing education.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

求 began as a drawing of a centipede.

Open 求 →

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.

Open 学 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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