文学家 (wén xué jiā) — literary scholar, man of letters, writer

Definition

A 文学家 is a distinguished literary figure — a writer known for serious literature, broader and more honorific than 作家, which just means any writer. 比 作家 更强调在文学史上的地位与成就。

noun
literary scholarman of letterswriter
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 文学家。
    Zhè wèi wén xué jiā xiě le hěn duō guān yú táng dài shī gē de wén zhāng.
    This writer has written many articles about Tang dynasty poetry.
  • 文学家。
    Tā shì zhōng guó xiàn dài zhù míng de wén xué jiā.
    He is a famous modern Chinese literary scholar.
  • 文学家。
    Zhè běn shū chū zì yí wèi rì běn wén xué jiā zhī shǒu.
    This book comes from a Japanese man of letters.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

文学literature
文wénwriting学xuéstudy
偏正Modifier + head
家jiāperson

文学 means literature and 家 denotes a person engaged in it, together naming a writer or person of letters.

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.

Open 文 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

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