育

育 is an alternate form of 毓, which more clearly shows the original structure. 毓 is a compound ideograph formed from 每 (“woman with hairpins, often used as a female indicator”) and 㐬 (the right-side component of 流, depicting a child).

In oracle bone script, 毓 depicts a woman (represented by 每 / 女 / 人 variants) squatting or kneeling, with a child inverted in the womb. This is a pictorial representation of childbirth.

The child (㐬) sometimes appears upside-down (ready to be born) or upright (as 子).

The three short strokes beneath 㐬 represent amniotic fluid, visible in oracle bone inscriptions as dots surrounding the child.

Thus, 毓 originally meant “to give birth to a child successfully.” From this arose the extended sense “to raise, to nurture.”

In bronze inscriptions, the form 每+㐬 continued. By the seal script (篆書 zhuànshū) stage, the left component 每 was retained, but the lower strokes of 㐬 were simplified. At this stage, a flesh radical 月 (variant of 肉) was added at the bottom, creating the present standard form 育.

Because it originated as a pictograph of childbirth, 育 carries both the literal meaning of bringing life into the world and the extended cultural meaning of nurturing development in children, students, or even ideas. Its enduring use in compounds like 교육 (education) and 체육 (physical education) shows how the concept of 育 = growth + cultivation became foundational in East Asian educational and cultural vocabulary.

In Korean, 육 (育) appears in many compounds related to education, raising, and nurturing:

교육 (教育) – education

체육 (體育) – physical education, sports

보육 (保育) – childcare

육성 (育成) – fostering, development

양육 (養育) – nurturing, raising

사육 (飼育) – breeding, raising animals

In Taiwan, the upper component of the character contains ⿻ 一 厶 (3 strokes) while in other regions, the upper component contains ⿱ 亠 厶 (4 strokes).

In Taiwan, the bottom component of the character contains ⺼ (meat radical) while in other regions, the bottom component contains ⺝ (similar to 月 but with a vertical left stroke).

The historical Kangxi dictionary records two character forms, ⿳ 亠 厶 ⺝ (8 strokes) and ⿱⿻ 一 厶 ⺝ (7 strokes). The alternative form with 7 strokes (page 974, character 10) is based on Zhengzitong which claims that it is the original form (本字 ( běnzì)).

A CJK compatibility ideograph exists at U +2F982 for the alternative Taiwan form which contains ⿱ 亠 厶 (4 strokes) as the upper component and ⺼ as the bottom component.