文 — how to write the kanji for “sentence”

文 means “sentence”, “literature” and “style”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in first grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 190th most used kanji. KANJIDIC2 gives it 2 on readings and 2 kun readings, so the word decides how you say it. Its parts sit stacked: 亠 (“lid”), strokes 1–2; 乂 (“mow”), strokes 3–4, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word fumi, “letter; note”. Its common words take the reading bun: 文化 (“culture”), 文学 (“literature”), 文書 (“document”) and 論文 (“thesis”). Chinese reads it wén, “language”, at HSK 1.

Strokes

4

JLPT

N4

Radical

文 (“sentence”)

On

ブン, モン

Kun

ふみ, あや