敎

Compound character (mainly semantic–phonetic, sometimes treated as associative):

爻 (crossing lines, interaction) – indicates interaction or guidance; sometimes interpreted as phonetic.

子 (child) – semantic, representing the pupil or child being taught.

攵 (strike with a hand or stick) – semantic, suggesting discipline or correction.

The image conveys “disciplining or guiding a child through instruction,” hence the meaning “to teach.”

Semantic range:

- to teach, to instruct, to educate;

- to model, to make someone imitate;

- to cause, to order (Classical Chinese grammar function);

- by extension: teaching, education, doctrine.

敎育 (교육) – education

師敎 (사교) – teacher’s instruction

敎化 (교화) – to enlighten, moral instruction

敎訓 (교훈) – lesson, teaching

敎會 (교회) – church

The variant 教 is the standard form in most of the Sinosphere (China, Japan, Vietnam). Korea uniquely preserves 敎 as the formal standard, though 教 is also seen in calligraphy or informal use.

In Classical Chinese, 敎 can function like 使 (“to make, to cause”), e.g., “敎人行之” (“cause someone to do it”).

In Old Chinese reconstructions (e.g. Baxter–Sagart), 爻 is treated as the phonetic element, showing the mixed nature of this character.

教

敬 (to respect) – shares 攵 as the “action” component, but oriented toward reverence.