(wén huà) - culture in Mandarin
wénhuàTraditional: 文化
Translation
culture
Test yourself on 文化
Three quick questions. No account needed.
Know this word? Create a free account to track it.
Word origin
From the classical phrase 文治教化, government by letters and transformation by teaching: 文 (wén, writing, the civil) plus 化 (huà, to transform). The modern sense answering the European word culture was fixed in nineteenth century Japanese and borrowed back into Chinese.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 文 (wén, writing) + 化 (huà, to transform)
Stroke order
文
化
Examples
。
Chinese culture has a very long history.
。
I am very interested in French culture.
。
Language and culture cannot be separated.
。
Company culture affects everyone.
。
He studies cultural history at university.
文化 (wén huà) is culture in the broad sense: the arts, customs and habits of a people. It sits easily in front of another noun (中国文化, 公司文化, 饮食文化) and behind one (文化交流, cultural exchange).
It is also the ordinary word for education in the sense of book learning. 有文化 means literate and schooled, 文化水平 is a person's level of education, and 文化课 are the academic subjects at school as opposed to sport or music.
That second sense is the trap. 他没文化 does not mean he lacks culture in the refined English sense of never visiting a gallery. It means he has little schooling and possibly cannot read well, and it is a real insult. If you want the English sense, say 他对艺术没有兴趣.
Where this fits
Used in
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Meet this word in a story
Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
Mandarin · Free printables
文化: worksheet, infographic and listicleThe padlock and Plus mark show a Kilo Lingo Plus feature. Start your free week to unlock it - no card needed.
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "文化" (culture): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Part of Kilo Lingo Plus
Printables beyond chapters 1 and 2 are part of Kilo Lingo Plus. Sign up free and start your free week to download as many as you like: no card.
Start your free week (no card)This word is taught in chapter 27, lesson 10: 文化, 完蛋, 引擎 and 7 more words.