Zi:文

文 [wén] 文字 characters/writing, language/literature (文化 ‘culture’; 文林 ‘scholarly community’); 天文 astronomy; (radical 67, 文部); (HDZ:) … [mín] (HDC:) 忞/文莫: 黾勉, 努力

3 monosyllabic entries in The ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (namespace Ci):

►¹wén 文 {D} b.f. ①writing; script ►wénzì 文字 ②language ►yǔwén 语文 ③literary/artistic/cultural pursuits ►¹wényì 文艺 ④literary language ►wényán 文言 ⑤formal ritual ►xūwén 虚文 ⑥certain natural phenomena ►tiānwén 天文 ⑦civil; civilian ►wénguān 文官 ⑧cultured; cultural; literary ►¹wénhuà 文化 ⑨gentle; refined ►wényǎ 文雅 ◆s.v. literary, bookish (of language) ◆n. ①〈environment:〉 lg. inscription ②Surname ◆m. 〈environment:〉 trad. (for copper coins) ◆v. ①cover up; conceal ②〈environment:〉 trad. tattoo
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The Shuōwén Seal form of 文 wén ‘intersecting lines’ (错画), is explained with 错 cuò ‘interlock/crisscross’ (交错), as in 文错 wéncuò: 文彩交错 wéncǎi jiāocuò ‘rich/bright lines/colors crossing/intermixed’ (as in drawing/painting).
    Compare: 文 wén ‘lines; veins; wood-grain’, formerly also wr. 彣, now 纹/紋; cf. 彣/文彩; 纹理; 花纹.
    Compare: 文 wén ‘pictograph’, 字 zì ‘phonetic compound characters’ (this old distinction is lost in the modern word 文字 wénzi ‘characters’).
    Compare: 爻 yáo ‘lines (of trigrams/hexagrams)’, also glossed in SW with 交 jiāo (交错 ‘crisscross’, 交易 ‘exchange one thing for another’).
    Older graphs associated with 文 wén (and 忞) are thought to depict a man tattooed on the body/chest.
    Compare: 文身 wénshēn ‘tattoo’, 花纹 huāwén ‘decorative pattern; tattoo’; 错臂文身 ‘tattoo the arms and body’; 错比文华 ‘florid diction/style’.
    Compare: 蚊 wén ‘mosquito’, formerly also wr. 蟁, and 𧓢; the female mosquito emerges at dusk, to tattoo her victims with mosquito bites.
    Compare: 忞 wěn (忞忞: 乱, 不明白), 紊 wěn (紊乱 wěnluàn ‘disorder/chaos’).
    Note: 文 wén ‘ornaments; designs; written characters; writing; literature; language; culture; civilization; civil (vs. military); gentle’.
    Compare: 文 wén ← MC /mjuən/; 闻/聞 wén ‘hear’ ← MC /mjuən/ (SBGY).
    文 is the 67th of the 214 radicals.
    HDZ: 文 : wén : (SW: 錯畫) (在肌肤上) 刺画花纹 (cf. 文身: 在身体上刺画有色的花纹或图案; 修身); 纹理 (物体面上的花纹或线条), 花纹 (各种条纹或图形); 自然界或人类社会某些带规律性的现象 (天文, 天象); 礼乐议制 (繁文缛节); 法令条文; 字, 文字 (甲骨文, 金文, 汉文, 英文); 言辞, 文辞; 文章; 韵文 (ant. 笔: 散文); (文体名); (简称) 文言 (ant. 白话文) (半文半白); 书籍; 社会科学 (文科); 非军事的 (ant. 武) (文人, 文官, 能文能武, 文武全才); 乐声节奏和谐; 美德; 美, 善; 华丽 (ant. 质); 柔和; (周代) 周文王; (量词); 紊 (wěn): 紊乱, 杂乱; (姓); 掩饰 (文过饰非); 装饰
    HDC: 文錯 : 文彩交错 (文織, 錯鏤 (镶嵌雕刻))
    HDC: 文織 : 有彩色花纹的丝织品; 舞文弄法, 罗织人罪
 ►references: Guǎngyùn:109.30; Wieger:61f; Henshall:68; Karlgren:AD1315,GS475,GSR475a; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:3.2169.1; Lindqvist:309,351; Mathews:7129; Kāngxī Zìdiǎn:477.01; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:010.0.04; Wáng(1993):179; EDOC:1
►components: 亠乂
 ►Cantonese: mahn\
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Unicode: U+6587
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