TongTong
Sign in

画图 (huà tú) — to draw (a picture, diagram, map, etc.)

Definition

画图 is the action verb 'to draw' — making a picture, diagram, or map. As a verb-object phrase, 画 (draw) modifies 图 (picture); they split apart when an object or measure word comes between, as in 画一张图.

verb
to draw (a picture, diagram, map, etc.)

Examples

  • 画图。
    Tā xǐ huan huà tú.
    He likes to draw.
  • 画图。
    Lǎo shī zài hēi bǎn shàng huà tú.
    The teacher is drawing on the blackboard.
  • 。
    Tā huà le yì zhāng tú.
    He drew a picture.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

画huàdraw
图túpicture

画 means draw and 图 means picture, so the word means to draw a picture.

Characters in this word

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 圖; 图 is its simplified writing.

  • 囗囗wéiwalled city
  • 啚啚bǐ

The traditional form 圖 pairs 囗, a walled city, with 啚, an early form meaning remote areas or territory. The simplified 图 is a later abbreviation.

Open 图 →
Appears in
Art & Fine Arts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.