n.
culture; civilization
文化
culture; civilization
Culture, civilization, or cultural customs (文 written script/civility + 化 transform/change); say 中国文化 (Chinese culture).
Common Usage & Traps
- 中国文化 — Chinese culture
- 了解文化 — to understand culture
- 传统文化 — traditional culture
-
学习文化了解文化 / 体验文化English speakers say study culture and translate directly to 学习文化. In Chinese this sounds like studying culture as a school subject. For experiencing a culture, use 了解文化 or 体验文化.
-
文化很高文化水平很高 / 很有文化English he is very cultured leads to 文化很高, but Chinese requires 文化水平很高 or 很有文化. 文化很高 alone is unnatural.
Why does 学习文化 sound wrong when you mean experiencing a culture?
学习文化 sounds like studying culture as a school subject, not experiencing it.
English study culture maps to 学习文化, but Chinese treats 文化 as content to understand, not a subject to study. Use 了解文化 for understanding or 体验文化 for experiencing. 学习文化 is only natural when culture is an academic major.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Verb choice | 了解文化 / 体验文化 | 学习文化 |
| Meaning | understand or experience culture | study culture as a subject |
| Context | travel, teahouse, daily life | university syllabus |
How do you say someone is cultured without using 文化很高?
文化很高 is unnatural; say 文化水平很高 or 很有文化 instead.
English he is very cultured tempts learners to say 文化很高. Chinese uses 文化水平很高 for education level or 很有文化 for refined knowledge. 文化很高 alone sounds incomplete and foreign.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Describing a person | 文化水平很高 / 很有文化 | 文化很高 |
| Focus | education level or refinement | abstract height of culture |
| Example | 他很有文化，知道很多历史故事。 | 他的文化很高。 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Ever wondered where old Beijing's tea-drinking culture has gone? Follow a visitor discovering why locals now avoid famous tea houses—and practice expressing surprise and comparisons in Chinese along the way.
- Scene #1
前天有个朋友告诉我，要想了解老北京的 文化 ，应该去老茶馆喝一次"大碗儿茶"。
Questions & Discussion 0 questions
No questions or discussions yet. Have a question about this character/word? Be the first to ask!