Radical ⼦ (39)

子¹

{子} *tsəʔ “child”

Depiction of a child with one hand pointing up and one down. Got mixed with 子² very early.

• 張世超 2000 - 𠂤組卜辭中幾個問題引發的思考
• 季旭昇 2014 - 說文新證 [2nd ed.] (970-971)

子²

?{胎} *C̥.lˤə “fetus” ♪→ {巳} *[sə.l]əʔ “si (6th earthly branch)”

Differentiated form of 子 *TSƏ with both hands pointing up. Got mixed with 子¹ very early.

• 張世超 2000 - 𠂤組卜辭中幾個問題引發的思考

Shang (Funü)	Late W.Zhou	Chunqiu (Qin)	Qin	Qin	Qin	Qin	W.Han	E.Han	Nanbei (N.Wei)
合22256 [乳]	集10173	石鼓.汧沔	陶新2634	秦風170	秦風212	睡.日甲69背	北.老176	乙瑛碑	元文墓誌

{㝅} *[k]ˤoks “to breastfeed” ♪→ {孔} *[k]ʰˤoŋʔ “hole”

Depiction of a baby (子) with an open mouth turned diagonally.

• 張富海 2017 - 說字二則

Shang (Shi)	Shang (Shi-Bin)	Shang (Bin)	Zhanguo (Chu)	Zhanguo (Qin)	Nanbei (N.Wei)	Sui
合21071	合21207	英494反	上三.周50	吳詛楚.湫淵	長孫子澤墓誌	段威墓誌

{孕} *l[i]ŋs “to be pregnant”

Depiction of a person (人/女) with a child (子) in his belly.

• 季旭昇 2014 - 說文新證 [2nd ed.] (971)

{字} *[mə.dz]əs “to foster”

宀 ROOM + ♪子 *TSƏ.

• 李學勤 (ed.) 2012 - 字源 (1279)

Qin	Qin	W.Han	E.Han	Nanbei (N.Wei)	Tang
陶錄6.439.3	睡.問98	北.老12	華山廟碑	南0036X	五經文字

{在} *[dz]ˤəʔ “to exist” → {存} *[dz]ˤə[n] “to exist”

♪才 *TSƏ + ♪子 *TSƏ. Later a synonymous word {存} became the main one for this glyph.

• 王寧 2017 - 清華簡《祭公之顧命》與《逸周書・祭公》對讀一則
• 李守奎 & 王永昌 2018 - 段玉裁古諧聲偏旁分部互用說的文字學觀察——兼論漢字中的“假形聲字”

Han	Sanguo (Wu)	Sanguo (Wu)	Tang
敦481	走四920	皇象	S.2672

Shortening of 學 based on the cursive form. Modern simplified form of 學 in China and Japan.

• Bökset R. 2021 - Long Story of Short Forms: Simplified Chinese Characters from A to Z (325)

Shang (Shi)	Shang (Bin)	Shang (Huadong)	Shang (Bin)	Shang (He)	Early W.Zhou	Late W.Zhou	Qin	E.Han	Nanbei (N.Wei)
合20100 [⿱𦥑宀]	合8304 [⿱爻宀]	花181 [⿳爻宀𠬞]	合3511 [⿱⿴𦥑㐅宀]	合27712 [𦥯]	集2803	集4324.1	睡.日乙14	漢0061A	南0068X

{學} *m.kˤruk “to study” & {教} *s.[k]ˤraw “to teach”

Initially the word {學} was written as ⿱𦥑宀 or ⿱宀𠬞 (宀 ROOM + 𦥑/𠬞 ♪*KUK (depiction of both hands holding something for {掬} *kuk “to hold with both hands”)). Later ♪爻/㐅² *KAW used for {教} was added, fusing the glyphs so it could be used for both words {學} and {教}. Later 子 CHILD was added. After the glyph 教 was created, 學 began to be used only for {學}.

• 季旭昇 2014 - 說文新證 [2nd ed.] (247-248)

Forms:

学 - Shortening based on the cursive form. Modern simplified form in China and Japan.