文具 (wén jù) — stationery | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

文具 is the collective word for 'stationery' — pens, pencils, erasers, and similar supplies. It is a category noun, not an individual item like 笔 ('a pen') or 铅笔 ('a pencil').

noun

stationery

Measure word · 件

Examples

文具。
Zhè zhǒng wén jù xiě zì hěn shū fu.
This type of stationery is very comfortable to write with.
文具。
Qǐng gěi wǒ kàn yí xià nà jiàn wén jù.
Please let me see that piece of stationery.
文具。
Zhè ge hái zi de wén jù dōu yòng wán le.
This child's stationery is all used up.

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.

文wénwriting

文 refers to writing, and 具 to tools, so it names tools for writing.

Characters in this word

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.

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

鼎鼎dǐngcauldron
廾廾gǒngtwo hands

具 pairs 廾 (two hands) with 鼎 (a cauldron), showing hands working with a cauldron to prepare food.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Classroom & Study

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