学习

Étymologie et composants

The Chinese word 学习 (xuéxí) for "to learn" is composed of two characters: 学 (xué) and 习 (xí). The character 学 originally meant "to imitate" or "to follow a model", and it was often used in the context of education and learning. The character 习 originally meant "to practice" or "to become familiar with something", and it was often used in the context of skill development or habit formation. Over time, the two characters came to be combined to form the word 学习, which took on the meaning of "to learn" in a more general sense. Today, 学习 is one of the most common words used in Chinese to talk about education and learning.