短文 (duǎn wén) — short article; essay | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

short articleessay

Measure word · 篇

短文。
Zhè piān duǎn wén xiě dé hěn hǎo.
This short article is well written.
短文。
Lǎo shī ràng wǒ men dú le yì piān guān yú huán bǎo de duǎn wén.
The teacher had us read a short article about environmental protection.
短文。
Tā měi tiān dōu huì zài bào zhǐ shàng fā biǎo yì piān duǎn wén.
He publishes a short article in the newspaper every day.

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.

短 means short and 文 is a text, giving the sense of a short article.

Characters in this word

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

矢豆短

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

豆dòu短duǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

短 is built from 矢 and 豆. 豆 is used for its sound, while 矢 is the component linked to the meaning.

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.