文科 (wén kē) — liberal arts; humanities (as an academic field) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

文科 is 'liberal arts' or 'humanities' as an academic track or department, paired with 理科 (sciences). It's broader than 文学 (literature only) and refers to university/school fields like history, philosophy, and languages.

noun

liberal artshumanities (as an academic field)

Examples

文科。
Tā wén kē de chéng jì bǐ lǐ kē hǎo hěn duō.
His grades in liberal arts are much better than in sciences.
文科。
Wǒ mèi mei zài yì suǒ dà xué jiào wén kē.
My younger sister teaches liberal arts at a university.
文科。
Xuǎn wén kē hái shì lǐ kē yào kàn nǐ de xìng qù.
Choosing liberal arts or sciences depends on your interests.

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wénculture/literature

文 (culture/literature) narrows 科 (field) to the humanities.

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.

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

禾斗科

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斗斗dòumeasuring tool

Sound part声符shēngfú

禾

禾hé科kē

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6

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