TongTong
Sign in

亲笔 (qīn bǐ) — in one's own handwriting; personally (written)

Definition

亲笔 (qīn bǐ) means the action is done in one's own handwriting — a modifier meaning 'personally written', as in 亲笔签名 ('personally signed'). Often used in formal contexts (letters, signatures, inscriptions).

adverb
in one's own handwritingpersonally (written)

Examples

  • 亲笔。
    Zhè fēng xìn shì zǒng lǐ qīn bǐ xiě de.
    This letter was personally written by the premier.
  • 亲笔。
    Tā qīn bǐ tí le yì shǒu shī.
    He personally inscribed a poem.
  • 亲笔。
    Qǐng zài zhè lǐ qīn bǐ qiān míng.
    Please sign here in your own handwriting.

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.

亲qīnpersonally
笔bǐpen

亲 personally and 笔 pen combine to mean in one's own handwriting.

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 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

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
Reading & Writing

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