Chinese symbol for “formalism”
形式主义
xíng shì zhǔ yì
Traditional: 形式主義
formalism (in philosophy, art, or literary theory); excessive concern with form over substance
The closest CC-CEDICT match for formalism is 形式主义 (xíng shì zhǔ yì), defined as: formalism (in philosophy, art, or literary theory); excessive concern with form over substance.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Related words
Other words that share a character with 形式主义.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 形成 | xíng chéng | to form; to take shape |
| 形式 | xíng shì | outer appearance; form |
| 形象 | xíng xiàng | image; form |
| 形势 (形勢) | xíng shì | circumstances; situation |
| 情形 | qíng xing | circumstances; situation; state of affairs |
| 形态 (形態) | xíng tài | shape; form |
| 方式 | fāng shì | way; method; manner; mode; pattern (of behavior etc); 种 (zhǒng) |
| 正式 | zhèng shì | formal; official |
| 主要 | zhǔ yào | main; principal; major; primary |
| 意义 (意義) | yì yì | sense; meaning |
See also: Japanese symbol for “formalism”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.