辍学 (chuò xué) — to drop out of school, to discontinue one's stu…

Definition

Formal written verb for 'dropping out of school' (often permanently or long-term). Refers to leaving one's studies, not a temporary absence like 请假.

verb

to drop out of schoolto discontinue one's studies

，辍学。
Tā yīn wèi jiā lǐ qióng, bù dé bú chuò xué.
He had to drop out of school because his family was poor.
，。
Tā chuò le yì nián xué, hòu lái yòu huí lái le.
He dropped out of school for a year, and then came back.
辍学。
Hěn duō nóng cūn hái zi shàng chū zhōng shí jiù chuò xué le.
Many rural children drop out of school when they reach middle school.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

辍 stopping or ceasing is directed at 学 studies, so the sense is discontinuing one's education.

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 輟; 辍 is its simplified writing.

車叕輟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

車車jūcarriage; chariot

Sound part声符shēngfú

叕

叕zhuó輟

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輟, not the simplified 辍, pairs 車 (carriage; chariot) with 叕 for the sound.

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.

Appears in