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笔下 (bǐ xià) — (one's) writing ability and skill; the style, wording, and content of a written work

Definition

Literary noun referring to the writing itself — the style, wording, and content of what someone puts down on paper. Often appears in phrases like 笔下的人物 / 笔下的文字 to talk about what an author produces.

noun
(one's) writing ability and skillthe stylewordingand content of a written work

Examples

  • 笔下，。
    Tā bǐ xià gōng fu hěn shēn, měi piān wén zhāng dōu hěn yǒu lì.
    His writing skill is very deep; every article he writes is powerful.
  • 笔下。
    Zhè wèi zuò jiā bǐ xià de rén wù xíng xiàng fēi cháng shēng dòng.
    The characters under this author's pen are very vivid.
  • 笔下。
    Tā bǐ xià de wén zì yǒu zhe qiáng liè de gǎn rǎn lì.
    The words he writes have a strong infectious power.

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.

笔bǐpen
下xiàunder

笔下 means what lies 下 under the 笔 pen, referring to writing.

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 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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →
Appears in
Reading & Writing

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