坟

• Pinyin: fén
• Hanzi breakdown: 坟 = 土 + 文 (earth + markings — a marked earthen burial mound)

Meaning

Grave mound; a burial mound raised over a burial site. An earthen mound marking a place of interment.

More informal than 坟墓 or 墓地. Refers specifically to the raised earth mound over a grave. Common in rural and traditional contexts. Often used in poetry and literature to evoke mortality and remembrance.

Examples

1. 每逢清明时节，村民们便结伴上山为祖先的坟除草添土，寄托哀思。 Every Qingming Festival, villagers go up the mountain together to weed and add fresh soil to their ancestors’ graves, expressing their remembrance.
2. 战场上那些无名的坟散落在荒野之中，无声地诉说着那段历史的惨烈与悲壮。 On the battlefield, nameless graves lie scattered across the wilderness, silently speaking to the brutality and tragedy of that period of history.
3. 她独自走到父亲的坟前，将一束白菊轻轻放下，久久伫立，泪水无声地滑落。 She walked alone to her father’s grave, gently set down a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, and stood there for a long time as silent tears streamed down.

Usage Guide

Context: culture, literature, death-and-mourning

Tone: solemn

Do Say

• 清明节前后，他专程回到故乡为祖父的坟培土添香，以表达对先人的缅怀与敬意。(Around the Qingming Festival, he made a special trip back to his hometown to add earth and incense to his grandfather's grave, expressing reverence and remembrance for the deceased.)
• 那片山坡上零散分布着几十座坟，是当年这里曾有一处古老村落的唯一证据。(Scattered across that hillside were dozens of graves, the only evidence that an ancient village had once existed here.)

Don't Say

• 坟 in formal contexts — use 坟墓 or 墓地 in official, academic, or ceremonial settings, as 坟 alone can sound too casual or blunt

Origin & History

坟 = 土 + 文 (earth + markings — a mound of earth marked to distinguish it as a burial site)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal