Definition
墨 (mò) is the solid ink stick used in traditional calligraphy and painting — the raw material before grinding. 墨水 (mò shuǐ) refers to the liquid ink after grinding (or figuratively 'learning'), while 笔墨 (bǐ mò) means 'pen (brush) and ink' as a paired concept, often referring to writing or composition as an art form.
noun
ink stick (solid ink for calligraphy)Chinese ink (after grinding; ink used in writing and painting)
Measure word · 块
Easily confused
- 嘿hēilook-alike(interjection) hey! (to call attention or greet informally)
- 摸mōsound-aliketo touch, to feel (with the hand)
- 抹mǒsound-alike(verb) to apply, to smear (ointment, cream, makeup, etc.)
- 磨mósound-aliketo grind; to rub; to polish; to sharpen
- 末mòsound-alikethe end, final stage (of a period of time or an object)
- 膜mósound-alike(biology) membrane
Examples
- 墨“”。Zhè wèi shūfǎjiā yòng mò xiě le yí gè “fú” zì.This calligrapher wrote the character 'fu' using ink.
- 墨？。Nǐ mǎi de shì nǎ kuài mò? Zhìliàng kàn qǐlai búcuò.Which ink stick did you buy? The quality looks good.
- ，墨。Yánmó shí, mò bǐlì yào shìzhōng.When grinding ink, the proportion of ink to ink (墨) ratio should be moderate.
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