What ⽂ means
It files entries under the 文 radical. A radical groups dictionary entries; a radical-stroke index sorts each group by remaining strokes. ⽂ is the index form, while 文 is the ordinary ideograph.
Late Shang inscriptions record 文 on oracle bones—bones used for divination—and on bronze objects used in rituals. By the small-seal stage, its shape neared today's. The second-century Shuowen Jiezi, a Chinese character dictionary, glossed it as crossed patterns. A 2018 study argues the tattooed-chest origin of 文 cannot be proved from the glyph alone. Over centuries, its meanings widened from pattern to writing, literature, culture, and refinement.
Part of the collection
Don't confuse it with
1
Related characters
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Questions people ask
1Why does ⽂ show as a box on some devices?
Not every system ships a font for the Kangxi Radicals block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.
More like this
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How to type or find ⽂
- Search it as
- Kangxi radical 文 · 文 vs ⽂ · 文 origin
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
⽂\2F42Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.