中学 (zhōng xué) — middle school | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

中学 covers both junior and senior high school (roughly ages 12–18). Use 小学 for primary school and 高中 for senior high specifically.

noun

middle school

Measure word · 个

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.

The middle specifies the level, while school gives the institution.

Characters in this word

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

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.

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