子

zi

child / meaningless suffix

a child wrapped in a blanket means 'sons and daughters'

学

xue

to learn, to study

enlightenment [symbol] + cover [mi] + child (zi)

under a roof of an enlightened school children are learning and studying

字

zi

character; word

house [mian] + child (zi)

what is a school for children, that is a character for words

李

li

plum

tree (mu) + child (zi)

a tree with many child-fruits like plums