HSK 5 · Education

学问 xuéwèn “learning” in Chinese

Traditional 學問

What 学问 means

  1. learning
  2. knowledge
  3. scholarship
  4. a body of specialised knowledge
  5. (fig.) any activity that demands expertise, skill or experience (e.g. gathering forensic evidence, selecting clothing, managing relationships)

How to say 学问

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale学xué2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale问wèn4th tone, falling

学问 in a sentence

  1. 翻译是一门学问。

    Fānyì shì yì mén xuéwèn.

    Translation is a whole field of knowledge in itself.

    Sentence #1672212 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 哲学不是书面上的学问，而是一种生活的方式。

    Zhéxué bú shì shūmiàn shàng de xuéwèn, ér shì yì zhǒng shēnghuó de fāngshì.

    Philosophy isn’t book learning; it’s a way of life.

    Sentence #3130826 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 学问 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 学 (xué) with each of its parts in a different colour
学xuéto learn
  • ⺍small form of 小 · xiǎo
  • 冖cover · mì
  • 子child · zǐ

Memory aidA roof 冖 over a child 子 at study.

The character 问 (wèn) with each of its parts in a different colour
问wènto ask; to inquire
  • 门gate · ménSound part
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 门 (mén) hints at the sound. Compare it with wèn.

Memory aidA mouth 口 at the gate 门, with 门 (mén) giving the sound: to ask.

How to write 学问

学 8 strokes · 问 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

学问 (xuéwèn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 学问 (xuéwèn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 学问

Words with 学

学xué · to learn学生xuésheng · student同学tóngxué · classmate学校xuéxiào · school学习xuéxí · to study大学dàxué · university上学shàngxué · to go to school小学xiǎoxué · elementary school中学zhōngxué · middle school大学生dàxuéshēng · university student

Words with 问

请问qǐngwèn · Excuse me问wèn · to ask问题wèntí · question提问tíwèn · to question问候wènhòu · to give one’s respects询问xúnwèn · to inquire疑问yíwèn · question反问fǎnwèn · to ask a rhetorical question过问guòwèn · to concern oneself with慰问wèiwèn · to express sympathy

More words: Education & Learning

文字wénzì · writing物理wùlǐ · physics写作xiězuò · writing学历xuélì · educational background训练xùnliàn · to train幼儿园yòu'éryuán · kindergarten语气yǔqì · tone哲学zhéxué · philosophy

FAQs

学问 (xuéwèn) means “learning” or “knowledge”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it xuéwèn: xué with a 2nd tone, then wèn with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 学问 is written 學問. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xuewen with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 学问 from the suggestions. Typing xuewen into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
学问 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.