文

Derived characters

 * Appendix:Chinese radical/文

Descendants

 * 𘱒

Glyph origin

 * a man with a painted or tattooed chest – original form of . In current form, tattoo has vanished, so simply an outline of a man (head, outstretched arms, legs, chest). Compare, which has no chest.

Etymology
Possibly a derivation, with -n nominal suffix, of "soot (obs.), ink (obs.), coal".

Semantic shift: "pattern, tattoo (made of soot)", "written glyph (made of ink)" > "literature" > "refined, cultured".

Definitions

 * 1) writing; literary composition; literature
 * 2) official document
 * 3) literary language; Literary Chinese
 * 4) script; written form
 * 5) (written) language
 * 6) culture
 * 7) liberal arts; humanities
 * 8) natural or social phenomenon
 * 9) ritual; etiquette
 * 10) of a government position, non-military: civil, civilian
 * 11) gentle; refined
 * 12) 47th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "pattern, repetition" (𝌴)
 * 13)  mill
 * 14)   the twelfth day of a month
 * 1) script; written form
 * 2) (written) language
 * 3) culture
 * 4) liberal arts; humanities
 * 5) natural or social phenomenon
 * 6) ritual; etiquette
 * 7) of a government position, non-military: civil, civilian
 * 8) gentle; refined
 * 9) 47th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "pattern, repetition" (𝌴)
 * 10)  mill
 * 11)   the twelfth day of a month
 * 1) liberal arts; humanities
 * 2) natural or social phenomenon
 * 3) ritual; etiquette
 * 4) of a government position, non-military: civil, civilian
 * 5) gentle; refined
 * 6) 47th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "pattern, repetition" (𝌴)
 * 7)  mill
 * 8)   the twelfth day of a month
 * 1) gentle; refined
 * 2) 47th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "pattern, repetition" (𝌴)
 * 3)  mill
 * 4)   the twelfth day of a month
 * 1) 47th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "pattern, repetition" (𝌴)
 * 2)  mill
 * 3)   the twelfth day of a month
 * 1)  mill
 * 2)   the twelfth day of a month
 * 1)   the twelfth day of a month

Definitions

 * 1) to cover

Etymology 1
From.

Noun

 * 1) the, an old currency
 * 2) a unit of length for measuring the size of one's foot
 * 3) a character, a letter
 * 4) writing, something written
 * 5) a magical spell
 * 6)  a design, a pattern
 * 7)  a

Usage notes
The and  senses are more often spelled.

Etymology 2
A later borrowing from. Compare modern 🇨🇬 reading bûn, 🇨🇬 vûn.

Noun

 * 1)  a sentence
 * 2) writing, composition
 * 3) a design or pattern as decoration
 * 4) literature, learning, scholarship
 * 5) elegance, refinement
 * 6) a saying, an aphorism, a proverb

Etymology 3
Possibly a shift from an older 🇨🇬-derived reading pun. Earlier Japanese writing was ambiguous regarding the final n sound spelled in modern Japanese, with this sound often spelled (and possibly pronounced) as  instead.

&#42; → →

This reading appears in the, in works such as .

Noun

 * 1) writing, something written
 * 2) a letter, an epistle
 * 3)  study, scholarship
 * 4) a style of

Derived terms

 * : a love letter

Etymology 4
. Appears in texts from the early. Compare 🇨🇬,.

Noun

 * 1) a pattern, a design, especially one with diagonally crossing lines
 * 2) a diagonal crossing
 * 3) a flowery expression or turn of phrase
 * 4) a plot, a scheme
 * 5) a refrain or recurring phrase in a piece of music
 * 6) a harder vein or grain in a leaf or piece of wood or bamboo
 * 7) a stain, a blemish
 * 8) a mediator, a go-between
 * 9) a small indistinct fluctuation in a trend line
 * 10) a kind of woven silk textile with a diagonally crossing pattern
 * 11) short for : a twill weave; someone who weaves twill
 * 12) short for : in a loom, a bamboo pole placed between the heddle and the back beam or platen, used to improve the handling
 * 13) short for : cat's cradle
 * 1) short for : in a loom, a bamboo pole placed between the heddle and the back beam or platen, used to improve the handling
 * 2) short for : cat's cradle

Usage notes
For the second group of senses, the spelling is more common.

Etymology
From.