Chinese word

文学

Pronunciation

Pinyinwén xué

Meaning

  • nounliterature

Example

我喜欢文学。wǒ xǐ huān wén xué

I like literature.

Illustration for 文学 (literature)

More examples

这门课主要讨论文学的发展。zhè mén kè zhǔ yào tǎo lùn wén xué de fā zhǎn

This course mainly discusses the development of literature.

Core concept

A creative and scholarly world where written language gives shape to human experience, ideas, and feeling.

Common phrases

  • 文学作品wén xué zuò pǐn

    literary works

  • 中国文学zhōng guó wén xué

    Chinese literature

  • 现代文学xiàn dài wén xué

    modern literature

Similar words

小说xiǎo shuō: A fairly long fictional story shaped by its characters and events.
诗歌shī gē: Poetry that uses rhythm or rhyme to express feelings and images in a brief, focused form.
散文sǎn wén: Writing that presents thoughts or experiences in everyday language without a fixed poetic form.
文章wén zhāng: A connected piece of writing that shares information or feelings.

Definition in Chinese

用文字创作并表达思想、情感和社会经验的艺术与学问的总称，包括诗歌、小说、散文、戏剧等。yòng wén zì chuàng zuò bìng biǎo dá sī xiǎng qíng gǎn hé shè huì jīng yàn de yì shù yǔ xué wèn de zǒng chēng bāo kuò shī gē xiǎo shuō sǎn wén xì jù děng

Word origin

文学 (wénxué, "literature") combines 文 (wén, "writing") + 学 (xué, "learning"), joining written expression with the study of it.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, 文学 (wénxué, "literature") is a broad, formal category, so naming a genre or title makes a reading preference more specific.

Opposites

Related words

  • 文学家wén xué jiāliterary scholarnoun
  • 文学史wén xué shǐhistory of literaturenoun

Word lists with this word