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退学 (tuì xué) — to drop out of school; to discontinue one's studies

Definition

退学 means to formally leave school before finishing one's studies, whether expelled or by choice. As a 离合词 it splits: 退了学 / 退过一次学 (not *退学了书).

verb
to drop out of schoolto discontinue one's studies

Examples

  • ，退学。
    Tā yīn wèi shēn tǐ bù hǎo, zhǐ hǎo tuì xué le.
    He had to drop out of school because of poor health.
  • ，。
    Tā zài dà èr de shí hou tuì le xué, qù chuàng yè le.
    She dropped out in her sophomore year to start a business.
  • 退学？。
    Nǐ wèi shén me yào tuì xué? zài kǎo lǜ yí xià ba.
    Why do you want to drop out? Think it over.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

退tuìwithdraw
学xuéstudies

退 withdraw and 学 studies combine to mean leave one's studies, i.e. drop out.

Characters in this word

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

  • 皀皀jífood vessel
  • 夊夊suīdownward foot

退 originally showed 皀, a food vessel, with 夊, a downward foot, for leaving the table after eating. In modern 退, the vessel part 皀 changed into an unrelated shape.

Open 退 →

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
School & Education

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