学 — Kanji Meaning, Readings & Example Words (JLPT N5)
What it means
At its heart, 学 is all about studying and learning. You'll meet it in two roles: as a standalone verb (学ぶ, "to learn") and — far more often at this level — as a building block inside school-related compounds (学校 "school," 学生 "student," 大学 "university," 数学 "mathematics"). The picture behind the kanji is fitting: a child (子) sitting beneath a roof, busy learning. Whenever you spot 学 in a new word, you can safely bet it has something to do with study, school, or education — a real head start on the meaning.
Readings
| Type | Reading | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| on'yomi | ガク | 学校 (school), 学生 (student), 大学 (university), 数学 (mathematics) |
| kun'yomi | まな.ぶ | 学ぶ (to learn) |
Here's a rule of thumb that works for most kanji, not just this one: the kun'yomi (まな.ぶ) shows up when the kanji stands more or less alone with a hiragana ending, while the on'yomi (ガク) appears inside two-kanji compound words. So 学ぶ uses まな.ぶ, but 学校, 学生, and 大学 all use ガク. With 学 the on'yomi does most of the heavy lifting — almost every common word you'll meet reads it as ガク.
Stroke order & radical
- Strokes: 8, written top to bottom. Start with the three little strokes across the top (they look like a tiny crown), then the horizontal cover beneath them, and finish with 子 "child" at the bottom.
- Radical: the radical is 子 (child), the part that sits at the very bottom. It's a nice memory hook — a child under a roof is exactly who's doing the learning.
Recognizing 子 down there also ties 学 to other "child / growing-up" kanji, so the radical is doing double duty as both a structural clue and a meaning clue.
Common words using 学
One thing to watch: in 学校 (がっこう) the ガク sound shortens and doubles into がっ before the こう — a small sound change called gemination (the little っ). You don't say "がくこう"; the く tightens into a clipped がっ. It's worth saying 学校 out loud a few times so the rhythm sticks. Everywhere else here the reading is the clean ガク you'd expect (学生, 大学, 数学, 留学).
Example sentences
ヤッタンは毎日学校で日本語を勉強します。
ヤッタンは まいにち がっこうで にほんごを べんきょうします。
Yattan studies Japanese at school every day.
学校 — the on'yomi ガク, with the がっこう gemination (がっ).
モチはピアノの弾き方を学んでいます。
モチは ピアノの ひきかたを まなんでいます。
Mochi is learning how to play the piano.
学ぶ — the kun'yomi まな.ぶ, used here as the standalone verb 学んで.
先生は「大学で数学を学びました」と言いました。
せんせいは「だいがくで すうがくを まなびました」と いいました。
Sensei said, I studied mathematics at university.
Three readings in one line: 大学 and 数学 use ガク, while 学びました uses まな.ぶ.
Quick recap
- 学 = study / learning; 8 strokes; radical is 子 (child).
- ガク in compounds (学校, 学生, 大学, 数学); まな.ぶ when it stands alone (学ぶ).
- Watch the sound change in 学校 = がっこう — the く clips into a doubled がっ.
Your turn
Choose the correct reading of 学 in each word.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
How do you read 学 in 学校 vs 学ぶ?
In 学校 it's the on'yomi ガク (学校 = がっこう, 'school'), with the sound doubling into がっ. In 学ぶ it's the kun'yomi まな (学ぶ = まなぶ, 'to learn'). As a rule, compounds take the on'yomi ガク.
Why is 学校 read がっこう and not がくこう?
This is gemination: before the こう sound, the く of ガク tightens into a small doubled っ, giving がっこう. It's a common pronunciation change in Japanese compounds and just has to be memorized.
How many strokes does 学 have, and what is its radical?
学 has 8 strokes. Its radical is 子 ('child'), which sits at the bottom — a child under a roof, busy learning.
What's the difference between 学生 and 大学?
学生 (がくせい) means 'student,' while 大学 (だいがく) means 'university' (literally 'big study place'). Both read 学 as the on'yomi ガク.