留学/留學 liúxué — to study abroad

Meanings

1. 1

   to study abroad

   留 to stay plus 学 to study: staying in another country in order to study there. Like 结婚 and 聊天 it is a two-part verb, so the country is named before it with 在 or 去 — never after it.

   verb

Character breakdown

• 学/學

  xué (second tone, rising)

  to study, to learn; learning, a field of study; school (in 学校)

  8 strokes⿳⺍冖子Radical 子

Example sentences

• 我姐姐去年去中国留学了。/我姐姐去年去中國留學了。Wǒ (third tone, dipping) jiějie (third tone, dipping) qùnián (fourth tone, falling) qù (fourth tone, falling) Zhōngguó (first tone, high and level) liúxué (second tone, rising) le. (neutral tone)···

  My older sister went to China to study last year.

• 留学的时候，他学会了做中国菜。/留學的時候，他學會了做中國菜。Liúxué (second tone, rising) de (neutral tone) shíhou, (second tone, rising) tā (first tone, high and level) xuéhuìle (second tone, rising) zuò (fourth tone, falling) Zhōngguó (first tone, high and level) cài. (fourth tone, falling)···

  While studying abroad he learned to cook Chinese food.

Common mistakes

• Not quite我想留学中国。

  Correct我想去中国留学。

  学 already fills the object slot, so 中国 cannot follow. Put the destination first with 去 or 在: 去中国留学, 在中国留学.

Similar words

Words containing 学

• 学习/學習xuéxí (second tone, rising)to study, to learn
• 学校/學校xuéxiào (second tone, rising)school
• 学/學xué (second tone, rising)to learn
• 学生/學生xuésheng (second tone, rising)student, pupil
• 大学/大學dà (fourth tone, falling) xué (second tone, rising)university
• 科学/科學kēxué (first tone, high and level)science; scientific, rational
• 同学/同學tóngxué (second tone, rising)classmate, fellow student
• 数学/數學shùxué (fourth tone, falling)mathematics, maths
• 学会/學會xué (second tone, rising) huì (fourth tone, falling)to learn
• 学院/學院xué (second tone, rising) yuàn (fourth tone, falling)college
• 上学/上學shàng (fourth tone, falling) xué (second tone, rising)to go to school
• 医学/醫學yī (first tone, high and level) xué (second tone, rising)medicine
• 化学/化學huà (fourth tone, falling) xué (second tone, rising)chemistry
• 科学家/科學家kē (first tone, high and level) xué (second tone, rising) jiā (first tone, high and level)scientist
• 小学/小學xiǎo (third tone, dipping) xué (second tone, rising)elementary school; primary school
• 中学/中學zhōng (first tone, high and level) xué (second tone, rising)middle school
• 文学/文學wén (second tone, rising) xué (second tone, rising)literature