问 wèn — ask, inquire · English

问

wèn

ask, inquire

At a glance · 问

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

问字小篆从口门声，为形声字；本义为询问、问候。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

问本义为询问、打听。

Structure

形声字，外部『门』为声符，内部『口』为意符表言语。

At a glance

Pinyinwèn

Radical门

Strokes6

UnicodeU+95EE

Character type形声

Theme动作

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English ask, inquire Wen is a phonetic-semantic character meaning to ask and inquire.

Français demander, s'enquérir Wen est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant demander et s'enquérir.

Español preguntar, indagar Wen es un carácter fonosemántico que significa preguntar e indagar.

العربية يسأل، يستفسر ون حرف صوتي دلالي يعني السؤال والاستفسار.

Русский спрашивать Вэнь — фоносемантический знак, означающий спрашивать и осведомляться.

Common words

问题wèn tíquestion
询问xún wènask

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