文語
ぶんご · bungo · JLPT N1 · noun
written communication
📖 文 writing + 語 language = the language of writing, not speech
Bungo is the formal written style of Japanese, used in classic literature and old texts. It differs from everyday spoken Japanese, which is called kōgo.
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.