学 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

学: study; learning; science. JLPT N5; 8 strokes.

Readings

On readings

ガク

Kun readings

まな.ぶ

Romaji

gaku, manabu

Study notes

学 means 'study' and 'knowledge, discipline'; it is the central kanji of the school and science vocabulary.

On readings: ガク in 学生 (がくせい, student), 大学 (だいがく, university), 科学 (かがく, science), 文学 (ぶんがく, literature), 入学 (にゅうがく, admission to a school). In front of k becomes がっ: 学校 (がっこう, school), 学期 (がっき, school term). As a suffix it indicates a discipline: 経済学 (けいざいがく, economics), 言語学 (げんごがく, linguistics).

Kun reading: まなぶ (学ぶ, learn, study), more formal than 勉強する (べんきょうする).

Remember: 学 appears in the names of school levels: 小学校 (しょうがっこう, elementary school), 中学校 (ちゅうがっこう, junior high school), 大学 (だいがく, university).

Example words

• 学習 (がくしゅう) — study; learning
• 学校 (がっこう) — school
• 学ぶ (まなぶ) — to study; to learn

Example sentences

日本語を学んでいます。

nihongo wo manande imasu.

I am learning Japanese.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.