学制 (xué zhì) — educational system, school system; length of schooling (duration of a course of study)

Definition

学制 means the educational system of a country — its structure and length of schooling (e.g. primary, secondary, university years). It refers to the whole system, not a single school.

noun
educational systemschool systemlength of schooling (duration of a course of study)

Examples

  • 学制。
    Zhōng guó de xué zhì shì jiǔ nián yì wù jiào yù.
    China's educational system is nine-year compulsory education.
  • 学制。
    Dà xué běn kē de xué zhì yì bān shì sì nián.
    The length of undergraduate study is generally four years.
  • 学制。
    Zhè ge guó jiā zhèng zài gǎi gé xué zhì.
    This country is reforming its educational system.

Origin

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.

学xuéstudy
制zhìsystem

The sense of 学 'study' specifies the 制 'system' as an educational system.

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.

Open 学 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 制 pairs 朱 (tree) with 刀 (knife), showing the act of cutting a tree.

Open 制 →

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