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勾画 (gōu huà) — to sketch; to outline (a picture, plan, or concept)

Definition

verb
to sketchto outline (a picture, plan, or concept)

Examples

  • 勾画。
    Tā xiān yòng qiān bǐ gōu huà le yí xià tú àn de lún kuò.
    He first sketched the outline of the pattern with a pencil.
  • 勾画。
    Zhè fèn bào gào qīng xī gōu huà le wèi lái wǔ nián de fā zhǎn lán tú.
    This report clearly outlines the development blueprint for the next five years.
  • 勾画。
    Huà jiā yòng jǐ bǐ jiù gōu huà chū le huā duǒ de xíng zhuàng.
    The painter sketched the shape of the flower in just a few strokes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

勾gōutrace
画huàdraw

勾 means to trace or hook, and 画 means to draw; together they mean to sketch an outline.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 勾 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →
Appears in
Art & Fine ArtsReading & Writing

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