文学界 (wén xué jiè) — literary world; literary circles; the literary field

Definition

Literary circles / the literary world — the community of writers, critics, and scholars. 界 marks a field or realm, like 体育界 (sports world) or 教育界 (education circles).

noun
literary worldliterary circlesthe literary field

Examples

  • 文学界。
    Tā zài zhōng guó wén xué jiè hěn yǒu míng.
    He is very famous in Chinese literary circles.
  • 文学界。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō zài wén xué jiè yǐn qǐ le hěn dà de fǎn xiǎng.
    This novel caused a great response in literary circles.
  • 文学界。
    Tā zuì jìn jiā rù le běn shì de wén xué jiè.
    She recently joined the literary circles of this city.

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.

文学literature
文wénliterature学xuéstudy
偏正Modifier + head
界jièworld

“文学” names literature, and “界” names the field or circles of people.

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
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
介
介jiè界jiè
Same sound today

界 is built from 田 (field) and 介. 田 carries the meaning, while 介 gives the sound.

Open 界 →

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