散文 (sǎnwén): prose; essay

Measure Word

一篇散文 piān

Meanings

1 prose; essay
2 literary essay

Characters

Loose, free-flowing writing — prose that isn't bound by poetic form.

Examples

朱自清的散文写得很美。

Zhū Zìqīng de sǎnwén xiě de hěn měi.

Zhu Ziqing's prose is beautifully written.

我最近在写一篇散文。

Wǒ zuìjìn zài xiě yī piān sǎnwén.

I've been writing an essay recently.

中国现代散文有很高的文学价值。

Zhōngguó xiàndài sǎnwén yǒu hěn gāo de wénxué jiàzhí.

Modern Chinese prose has great literary value.

Tips

usage

In Chinese literary tradition, 散文 is distinguished from 诗歌 (poetry), 小说 (fiction), and 戏剧 (drama) as one of the four main literary genres.

Stroke Order

散 sàn

文 wén

Related Words

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文学 wénxué HSK 3 #6,078

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散步 sànbù HSK 3 #3,537

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天文 tiānwén HSK 5 #21,752

astronomy / astronomical

散发 sànfā HSK 7 #7,457

to emit / to give off / to distribute

疏散 shūsàn HSK 7 #5,758

to evacuate / to disperse / to scatter

散开 sànkāi #8,773

to scatter; to spread out / to disperse; to break apart

文明 wénmíng HSK 3 #4,586

civilization / civilized; cultured