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笔墨 (bǐ mò) — pen and ink (literal writing tools); writing, words, composition (as an art form or medium)

Definition

笔墨 means 'pen and ink' — literally the tools, or figuratively one's writing/composition. 言语 and 话语 refer to spoken words; 笔墨 is for written expression.

noun
pen and ink (literal writing tools)writingwordscomposition (as an art form or medium)

Examples

  • 笔墨。
    Zhè tào bǐ mò shì péng you cóng ān huī dài lái de.
    This set of pen and ink was brought from Anhui by a friend.
  • 笔墨，。
    Tā de bǐ mò gōng fu hěn shēn, wén zhāng xiě dé shí fēn jīng cǎi.
    His writing skill is very deep; his essays are exceptionally brilliant.
  • 笔墨。
    Gǔ dài wén rén cháng yǐ bǐ mò jì tuō qíng huái.
    Ancient literati often used pen and ink to express their feelings.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

笔bǐpen
墨mòink

“笔” means pen and “墨” means ink; together they refer to writing tools and, by extension, writing itself.

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 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
黑
黑hēi墨mò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

墨 is built from 土 (soil) and 黑, with 黑 giving the sound.

Open 墨 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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