TongTong
Sign in

留学 (liú xué) — to study abroad

Definition

留学 means studying as a student abroad — the focus is on being enrolled in a school. 出国 just means going abroad for any reason (travel, work, etc.).

verb
to study abroad

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ zài měi guó liú guò xué.
    I have studied abroad in America.
  • 留学。
    Tā dǎ suàn qù fǎ guó liú xué.
    He plans to study abroad in France.
  • 留学。
    Tā míng nián huì qù yīng guó liú xué.
    She will go to study abroad in Britain next year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

留liústay
学xuéstudy

留学 pairs 留 (stay) with 学 (study), meaning to stay abroad for study.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
卯
卯mǎo留liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

留 combines 田 (field) with 卯, which gives the sound.

Open 留 →

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 3HSK 2.0 Level 4School & Education

Browse more HSK 3 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.