英文 (Yīng wén) — English (language) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Refers to the English language. Compare 英语, which is the everyday word (also used in 'English language' sense); 英文 leans slightly more formal and often pairs with written text like 翻译/文件.

noun

English (language)

Examples

英文。
Tā shuō de Yīng wén hěn liú lì.
He speaks English very fluently.
英文。
Qǐng bǎ zhè fèn wén jiàn fān yì chéng Yīng wén.
Please translate this document into English.
英文。
Wǒ de Yīng wén shuǐ píng hái xū yào tí gāo.
My English level still needs improvement.

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.

英yīngEnglish

文wénlanguage

The English sense of 英 combines with 文 for writing or language to name the English language.

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.

艹央英

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

央

央yāng英yīng

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

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

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