文 (wén): language, culture, writing
文 (wén) is a Chinese character meaning “language.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亠 (structural) and 乂 (structural). It ranks #148 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 文 a tattooed chest, representing writing. Its radical form 文 (script) appears in many related characters such as 斑 (bān, spot).
Definitions
- language
- culture
- writing
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA tattooed chest, representing writing
Decomposition: ⿱亠乂 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 文 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 文
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 文件noun | wén jiàn | document | 4 |
| 文章noun | wén zhāng | article | 4 |
| 文化noun | wén huà | culture | 3 |
| 论文noun | lùn wén | paper | 5 |
| 文明noun/adjective | wén míng | civilized | 6 |
| 文字noun | wén zì | character | 4 |
| 文学noun | wén xué | literature | 5 |
| 中文noun | zhōng wén | Chinese language | 1 |
| 文档noun | wén dàng | (computer) file | 6 |
| 文物noun | wén wù | cultural relic | 6 |
| 作文verb/noun | zuò wén | to write an essay | 4 |
| 文献noun | wén xiàn | reference material (used in scholarly study) | 6 |
| 散文noun | sǎn wén | (broadly) prose (as opposed to verse) | 6 |
| 天文noun | tiān wén | astronomy | 6 |
| 文艺noun | wén yì | literature and art | 6 |
| 语文noun | yǔ wén | literature and language | 5 |
| 文具noun | wén jù | stationery | 6 |
| 文科noun | wén kē | liberal arts | 6 |
| 课文noun | kè wén | text | 3 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 凯文proper-noun | kǎi wén | Kevin (person name) |
| 埃文proper-noun | āi wén | Evan |
| 英文noun | yīng wén | English (language) |
| 欧文proper-noun | ōu wén | Owen (name) |
| 文书 | wén shū | document |
| 公文包 | gōng wén bāo | briefcase |
| 身无分文 | shēn wú fēn wén | (idiom) penniless |
| 史蒂文proper-noun | shǐ dì wén | Steven, Stephen (name) |
| 拉丁文noun | lā dīng wén | Latin (language) |
| 文件夹noun | wén jiàn jiā | folder |
| 文凭noun | wén píng | diploma |
| 天文馆noun | tiān wén guǎn | planetarium |
| 文盲noun | wén máng | illiterate |
| 文雅adjective | wén yǎ | elegant |
| 达尔文proper-noun | dá ěr wén | Charles Darwin (1809–1882), British biologist, author of "On the Origin of Species" 物種起源|物种起源 |
文 appears in 123 compound words: 41 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 8 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 文 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (41)
focus solely on form or appearance without emphasis on content or effectiveness; ostentatiousness
there's something behind all this; there's more to it than meets the eye
focus solely on form or appearance without emphasis on content or effectiveness; ostentatiousness
Showing 12 of 41 idioms containing 文.
Example Sentences
我在字典里查到了文字的详细解释。
wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le wén zì de xiáng xì xiè shì .
I looked up the detailed explanation of the word in the dictionary.
非常AI的一年 2026从剧场、美术馆到文学馆都疯AI
fēi cháng A I de yī nián 2 0 2 6 cóng jù chǎng , měi shù guǎn dào wén xué guǎn dōu fēng A I
A very AI year 2026 From theaters, art galleries to literary museums, crazy AI
考文垂:期待“为奥运喝彩”项目组持续发挥文化...
kǎo wén chuí : qī dài wéi ào yùn hē cǎi xiàng mù zǔ chí xù fā huī wén huà . . .
Coventry: Looking forward to the "Cheer for the Olympics" project team continuing to play culture...
美国总统川普国情咨文 跃热门押注标的
měi guó zǒng tǒng chuān pǔ guó qíng zī wén yuè rè mén yā zhù biāo de
U.S. President Trump's State of the Union address jumped to the hot bet target
悉尼中国文化中心2026新春招待会暨部省合作启动仪...
xī ní zhōng guó wén huà zhōng xīn 2 0 2 6 xīn chūn zhāo dài huì jì bù shěng gě zuò qǐ dòng yí . . .
Sydney Chinese Cultural Center 2026 New Year Reception and Launching Ceremony of Ministerial and Provincial Cooperation...
大看台|从郑钦文到宁忠岩:冲破欧美垄断 镌刻东方印..
dà kàn tái cóng zhèng qīn wén dào nìng zhōng yán : chōng pò ōu měi lǒng duàn 镌 kè dōng fāng yìn . .
From Zheng Qinwen to Ning Zhongyan: Breaking through the monopoly of Europe and the United States and engraved the Oriental Seal:
你的中文老师是谁？
Nǐ de Zhōngwén lǎoshī shì shéi?
Who is your Chinese teacher?
你可不可以帮我把这些句子翻译成中文？
Nǐ kěbu kěyǐ bāng wǒ bǎ zhèxiē jùzi fānyì chéng Zhōngwén?
Can you help me to translate these sentences into Chinese?
你有听过那首歌的法文版本吗？
Nǐ yǒu tīng guo nà shǒu gē de Fǎwén bǎnběn ma?
Have you ever heard that song sung in French?
这封信一定要用英文写吗？
Zhè fēng xìn yīdìngyào yòng Yīngwén xiě ma?
Must this letter be written in English?
Character Family
文 Radical Family — Characters sharing the script radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 文 (wén) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 文 have?
What is the radical of 文?
What are the components of 文?
What are common words containing 文?
What characters sound the same as 文 (wén)?
Is 文 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 文 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.