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文明 (wén míng) — (noun) civilization; culture; (adjective) civilized; cultured; polite

Definition

文明 covers both 'civilization' as a noun and 'civilized/polite' as an adjective — broader and more about a society's level than 文化 ('culture' as traditions/arts). For everyday politeness in behavior, 礼貌 is the natural choice.

noun
civilizationculture
adjective
civilizedculturedpolite
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 文明。
    Zhōng guó gǔ dài wén míng liú xià le xǔ duō zhēn guì yí chǎn.
    Ancient Chinese civilization left behind many precious heritages.
  • 文明。
    Gōng gòng chǎng suǒ qǐng shǐ yòng wén míng yòng yǔ.
    Please use polite language in public places.
  • 文明。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì de wén míng chéng dù lìng rén jīng tàn.
    The level of civilization in this city is amazing.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

文wénculture
明míngbright

文 (culture) and 明 (brightness) together suggest being cultured and enlightened.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Abstract ConceptsSociety & Public Life5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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