甲骨文 (jiǎ gǔ wén) — oracle-bone inscriptions; the earliest form of Chinese writing from the Shang dynasty

Definition

The earliest known Chinese writing: characters carved on turtle shells and animal bones for divination in the Shang dynasty. A technical term in archaeology and paleography — not interchangeable with general "ancient script."

noun
oracle-bone inscriptionsthe earliest form of Chinese writing from the Shang dynasty

Examples

  • 甲骨文。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā fā xiàn le xǔ duō jiǎ gǔ wén.
    Archaeologists discovered many oracle-bone inscriptions.
  • 甲骨文。
    jiǎ gǔ wén Shì yán jiū shāng cháo lì shǐ de zhòng yào zī liào.
    Oracle-bone inscriptions are important materials for researching Shang dynasty history.
  • 甲骨文。
    Tā zài dà xué lǐ zhuān mén xué xí jiǎ gǔ wén.
    He studies oracle-bone inscriptions as a specialty in university.

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.

甲骨shell and bone
甲jiǎtortoise shell骨gǔbone
联合Side by side
文wénwriting

甲骨 (tortoise shell and bone) bears 文 (writing), i.e. oracle-bone inscriptions.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

甲 is drawn as a hard protective shell, carapace, or scales of an animal, or as armor made of connected plates.

Open 甲 →

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
肉肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
冎
冎guǎ骨gǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The older form 冎 drew a bone; 肉, flesh, was added to make 骨.

Open 骨 →

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 →

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