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大手笔 (dà shǒu bǐ) — great literary work or writer of exceptional skill; large-scale project or investment; impressive undertaking

Definition

Refers to a bold, masterly move — a work of exceptional skill or a large-scale, impressive undertaking. Carries a sense of grandeur and confidence, more literary than everyday terms like 投资 or 作品.

noun
great literary work or writer of exceptional skilllarge-scale project or investmentimpressive undertaking

Examples

  • 大手笔，。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō zhēn shì yí bù dà shǒu bǐ, zhǎn xiàn le zuò zhě de shēn hòu gōng lì.
    This novel is truly a masterpiece, showcasing the author's profound skill.
  • 大手笔，。
    Nà ge chéng shì yǐn jìn le yì bǐ dà shǒu bǐ, tóu zī jiàn shè xīn de dì tiě xì tǒng.
    That city attracted a major investment to build a new subway system.
  • 大手笔，。
    Zhèng fǔ de zhè ge dà shǒu bǐ zhèng cè, jiāng gǎi biàn zhěng gè dì qū de jīng jì gé jú.
    This bold policy move by the government will reshape the economic landscape of the entire region.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

大dàgreat
手笔literary skill
手shǒuhand笔bǐpen
联合Coordinate

“大” means great, and “手” plus “笔” evoke the hand and pen of a writer, hence a great work.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

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 筆; 笔 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
聿
聿yù筆bǐ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The simplified 笔 is based on the traditional form 筆, which puts 竹 (bamboo) beside 聿 (writing brush). 聿 already meant the brush and supplied the sound; 竹 was added later to show it was made of bamboo.

Open 笔 →
Appears in
Business & CommerceLiterature & Poetry

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