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散文 (sǎn wén) — prose (as opposed to poetry); essay (a literary composition)

Definition

散文 is a literary genre — prose writing as a creative form, distinct from poetry. 文章 is the everyday word for any written piece (article, essay, composition); 散文 is specifically the literary prose genre.

noun
prose (as opposed to poetry)essay (a literary composition)
Measure word · 篇

Examples

  • 散文，。
    Tā xǐ huan dú sǎn wén, yě xǐ huan xiě shī.
    He likes to read prose and also likes to write poetry.
  • 散文，。
    Zhè piān sǎn wén xiě dé fēi cháng yōu měi, wǒ hěn xǐ huan.
    This essay is written very beautifully; I really like it.
  • 散文。
    Zhè wèi sǎn wén zuò jiā de zuò pǐn yǐng xiǎng le hěn duō rén.
    This prose writer's works have influenced many people.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

散sànloose
文wénwriting

散 means loose, 文 means writing, together prose rather than verse.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 林林líntrees, forest
  • 攴攴pūto knock, to tap

散 combines 林 (trees or forest) and 攴 (to knock or tap), originally showing knocking to clear vegetation, later extended to breaking up or dispersing.

Open 散 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

Open 文 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Literature & Poetry

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