文書
ぶんしょ · bunsho · JLPT N1 · noun
document
📄 文 (writing) + 書 (book/write): writing put into a book, i.e. a document
文 means writing or sentences; 書 means book or to write. Together they name any written document: a paper, file, or record.
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.