韩文 (hán wén) — Hangul (Korean phonetic alphabet); Korean written language

Definition

noun
Hangul (Korean phonetic alphabet)Korean written language

Examples

  • 韩文。
    Wǒ zhèng zài xué xí hán wén.
    I am learning Korean writing.
  • 韩文。
    hán wén Shì yì zhǒng pīn yīn wén zì.
    Hangul is a phonetic script.
  • 韩文。
    Zhè běn shū shì yòng hán wén xiě de.
    This book is written in Korean.

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.

韩hánKorean
文wénwriting/language

韩 specifies Korean, while 文 means writing or language, so the term denotes Korean written 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 韓; 韩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
韋韋wéisurround
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn韓Hán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 韓 pairs 倝, a sound part, with 韋, a part meaning 'surround'; the simplified 韩 is a later shorthand.

Open 韩 →

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 →

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