韻文

• 読み: いんぶん
• ローマ字: inbun
• 漢字の分解: 韻 (in) — rhyme, sound | 文 (bun) — writing, text
• 発音: /im.bɯɴ/

意味

Verse; poetry as a form of writing, as opposed to prose. Literary work characterised by structured metre, rhythm, or rhyme.

A noun contrasting with 散文 (prose). 韻文 encompasses all forms of poetry — tanka, haiku, shi, and their foreign equivalents — unified by the presence of organised sound patterning. In literary studies, the distinction between 韻文 and 散文 is foundational. The term also covers verse embedded in longer prose works (散文詩 being an intermediate form). Understanding this distinction is essential for N1-level literary analysis.

例文

1. 万葉集は日本最古の韻文集として、文学史上きわめて重要な位置を占めている。
2. 散文ではなく韻文で書かれたその作品は、声に出して読むと特別な響きを持つ。
3. 古代の口承文学の多くは韻文の形式を取り、記憶しやすいよう工夫されていた。

使い方ガイド

場面: literary criticism, poetry studies, academic writing, language education

トーン: academic

起源と歴史

Compound of 韻 (in) meaning 'rhyme, sound, rhythm' and 文 (bun) meaning 'writing, text'. The character 韻 depicts organised sound, reflecting the defining characteristic of verse: structured phonetic patterning.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated