文 (wén) is a Chinese character meaning “writing”. It is written from 亠 (lid) and 乂 (crossing strokes), one above the other, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “writing”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
亠 + 乂
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形笔画切分（hanzi-writer-data 核验：第1–2笔 点、横 = 亠，第3–4笔 撇、捺 = 乂）
Memory aid
A lid (亠) sitting on top of two crossed strokes (乂) — a cover over crossing lines, like marks written across a page.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 中文zhōng wénChinese (language)文 = wénHSK 1
- 文化wén huàculture文 = wén
- 文件wén jiàndocument; file文 = wén
- 文件夹wén jiàn jiāfolder; file folder文 = wén
- 文凭wén píngdiploma文 = wén
- 文苑wén yuànliterary circles; a collection of literary works文 = wén
- 译文yì wéntranslated text; a translation文 = wén
- 俄文é wénRussian (the written language)文 = wén
- 散文sǎn wénprose; essay文 = wén
- 文娱wén yúcultural recreation; arts and entertainment文 = wén
- 文盲wén mángan illiterate person; illiteracy文 = wén
- 文章wén zhāngarticle; essay; piece of writing文 = wén
- 文质彬彬wén zhì bīn bīnrefined and gentle; well-mannered and cultivated文 = wén
- 斯文sī wénrefined; cultured; gentle in manner文 = wén
Go deeper
All readings
writing
writing; script; written language; literature; culture
文字；书面语言。也指文章、文化。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 中文zhōng wénChinese (language)文 = wénHSK 1
- 文化wén huàculture文 = wén
- 文件wén jiàndocument; file文 = wén
- 文件夹wén jiàn jiāfolder; file folder文 = wén
- 文凭wén píngdiploma文 = wén
- 文苑wén yuànliterary circles; a collection of literary works文 = wén
- 译文yì wéntranslated text; a translation文 = wén
- 俄文é wénRussian (the written language)文 = wén
- 散文sǎn wénprose; essay文 = wén
- 文娱wén yúcultural recreation; arts and entertainment文 = wén
- 文盲wén mángan illiterate person; illiteracy文 = wén
- 文章wén zhāngarticle; essay; piece of writing文 = wén
- 文质彬彬wén zhì bīn bīnrefined and gentle; well-mannered and cultivated文 = wén
- 斯文sī wénrefined; cultured; gentle in manner文 = wén
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 文 mean?
文 (wén) means writing; script; written language; literature; culture.
How do you pronounce 文?
It is pronounced wén.
What parts is 文 made of?
亠 (lid) and 乂 (crossing strokes), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形笔画切分（hanzi-writer-data 核验：第1–2笔 点、横 = 亠，第3–4笔 撇、捺 = 乂）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 文 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 文?
文. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 文?
Common ones are 中文 and 文化. The reading of 文 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.