法文 (Fǎ wén) — French (language)

Definition

法文 means 'French (language)'. At HSK 7 it is a less common alternative to the standard 法语, more often seen in formal or written contexts.

noun
French (language)

Examples

  • ？
    Nǐ huì shuō Fǎ wén ma?
    Can you speak French?
  • 法文。
    Wǒ zhèng zài xué Fǎ wén.
    I am learning French.
  • 法文。
    Zhè běn shū shì Fǎ wén de.
    This book is in French.

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.

法fǎFrance
文wénwriting

法 here stands for France and 文 means writing or 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

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 →
Appears in
Language

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