文 wén culture
culture; writing; language
How it came to be
A figure seen from the front with a pattern marked across the chest: a tattoo, the oldest writing. Marks became writing, and writing became learning and culture.
How it is used
- Names a language's written form and culture broadly - 中文 (Zhōngwén) Chinese, 课文 (kèwén) a lesson text, 文化 (wénhuà) culture.
- Contrast 文 with 语 (yǔ): 中文 leans toward the written language/script, 汉语 (Hànyǔ) toward the spoken language, though in practice both mean 'Chinese'.
- In 作文 (zuòwén) and 文章 (wénzhāng) it means a composed piece of writing, an essay or article.
Characters built with 文
Words with 文
- 中文ZhōngwénChinese (written) languageHSK 1
- 文化wénhuàcultureHSK 3
- 课文kèwéntextHSK 3
- 文章wénzhāngarticleHSK 4
- 作文zuòwénto write an essayHSK 4
- 文件wénjiàndocumentHSK 4
- 文字wénzìcharacterHSK 4
- 文学wénxuéliteratureHSK 5
- 论文lùnwénpaperHSK 5
- 语文yǔwénliterature and languageHSK 5
- 天文tiānwénastronomyHSK 6
- 散文sǎnwénprose (as opposed to verse)HSK 6
- 文具wénjùstationeryHSK 6
- 文明wénmíngcivilizedHSK 6
- 文档wéndàngfileHSK 6
- 文物wénwùcultural relicHSK 6
- 文献wénxiànreference material (used in scholarly study)HSK 6
- 文科wénkēliberal artsHSK 6
- 文艺wényìliterature and artHSK 6
- 人文rénwénhumanitiesHSK 7
- 文人wénréncultivated individualHSK 7
- 文凭wénpíngdiplomaHSK 8
- 文盲wénmángilliterateHSK 8
- 文雅wényǎelegantHSK 8
Example sentences
- 老师教我们英文。 Lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen Yīngwén.The teacher teaches English to us.
- 这个英文句子是什么意思？ Zhège Yīngwén jùzi shì shénme yìsi?What does this English sentence mean?
- 中文很难学。 Zhōngwén hěn nán xué.Chinese is very difficult.
- 他很有文化。 Tā hěn yǒu wénhuà.He's very well-cultured.