外文
wài wén · HSK 3
foreign language (written)
📄 外 (outside) + 文 (writing) = outside writing = foreign language
外 means outside or external; 文 means writing, text, or literature. Together 外文 literally reads as outside-writing, meaning written language from outside the country — i.e. a foreign written language. Contrast with 外语 (spoken).
外 — evening 夕 + divination 卜
Originally a compound of 夕 (evening) and 卜 (divination). Ancient Chinese divinations were performed in the morning; doing them at evening (夕) was considered irregular or 'outside' the norm. From this sense of deviation, 外 came to mean 'outside' or 'external'.
文 — pictograph of crossed lines on a chest
文 originally depicted a person with patterns or tattoos drawn on the chest, shown as crossed or interwoven lines. From this image of decorative markings, it came to mean 'pattern,' then 'writing,' 'script,' and 'literature' or 'culture.' The modern senses all trace back to the idea of meaningful marks.