习xí

习

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Simplified · Today

繁体

Traditional Chinese

The traditional form 習 depicts a bird's wing (羽) spreading above what may represent the sun or repeated motion — the original image shows a young bird learning to fly, which is why 習 came to mean "to practice" and "to review." The simplified 习 preserves only the upper wing strokes, stripping away the visual story but keeping the sound. From this character come 習慣 (habit), 練習 (practice), and 學習 (to study), all carrying the sense of repeated action that mastery requires.

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Shuowen

习, meaning 'to practice' or 'to study', originally pictured a bird repeatedly flapping its wings in oracle bone script. The radical 羽 (feather/wing) conveys the idea of flying, while the additional element signifies repeated motion. Thus the character was formed to depict the repeated practice of a chick learning to fly, later extending to the sense of 'to study'.

Pinyin

xí· HSK 1· Radical 羽

习xí

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin