文 · wén

writing; culture; pattern

Radical pronunciation

Radical summary

#67

Kangxi

4

Strokes

#52

Frequency

Visual hint

An elegant written character or a figure with unique beauty: a top horizontal and two crossing diagonals.

Suggests writing, culture, literature, or decorative patterns.

varies

Trace the radical, simplified, traditional, and variant forms when available.

文

2 examples

文

wén

culture; writing; civil

HSK 1

斌

bīn

refined and brave

HSK 6

Culture/writing radical. Found in 文 (culture/writing), 斌 (refined), 紊 (disordered).

The first Chinese writing: tattoo markings on the body — 文 originally meant body tattoos/markings.

父: 文 has crossing diagonals meeting at the center, symmetric; 父 has an extra dot and suggests a father figure.

What radical is this: 文?