文采 (wén cǎi) — literary talent, literary grace, eloquence in writing; (literary) bright and rich colors, colorful patterns

Definition

Literary talent or graceful style in writing — the 'polish' of a writer's language, not their ideas. In classical/decorative contexts it can also mean rich, bright coloring or patterning.

noun
literary talentliterary graceeloquence in writing(literary) bright and rich colorscolorful patterns

Examples

  • 文采，。
    Tā de wén zhāng hěn yǒu wén cǎi, dú qǐ lái hěn shū fu.
    His writing has great literary talent; it reads very comfortably.
  • 文采，。
    Zhè wèi shī rén yǐ wén cǎi zhù chēng, zuò pǐn liú chuán hěn guǎng.
    This poet is known for his literary grace, and his works are widely circulated.
  • 文采斓，。
    Gǔ dài gōng diàn de bì huà wén cǎi bān lán, zhì jīn sè cǎi yī rán xuàn lì.
    The murals in ancient palaces have rich and bright colors; even today the hues are still splendid.

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wénliterary
采cǎibrilliance

文 refers to writing or literary matters, and 采 adds brilliance or grace, giving literary talent.

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 採; 采 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 采 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (采访, 采购) it is 採; in others it is 采.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi採cǎi
Same sound today

The traditional form 採 combines 扌 (hand) with 采, which gives the sound and means to pick.

Open 采 →

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