图画 (tú huà) — drawing, picture

Definition

图画 means a drawing or picture, especially one made by hand — a child's drawing, an illustration. More concrete and everyday than 图像 (a digital/scientific image) or 图片 (a photo or printed picture).

noun
drawingpicture
Measure word · 幅
Easily confused

Examples

  • 图画。
    Wǒ xǐ huan kàn zhè fú tú huà.
    I like looking at this picture.
  • 图画。
    Tā huà le yì zhāng fēng jǐng tú huà.
    He drew a landscape picture.
  • 图画。
    Xiǎo péng yǒu men zài jiào shì qiáng shàng tiē le hěn duō tú huà.
    The children put many pictures on the classroom wall.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

图túpicture
画huàdrawing

图 and 画 both refer to drawn images, so together they mean a picture.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Art & Fine Arts

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