水笔 (shuǐ bǐ) — stiff-haired writing brush (for calligraphy); water-color paintbrush; fountain pen

Definition

水笔 is a catch-all for writing/painting brushes that use water-based ink — stiff-haired calligraphy brushes (书法用), watercolor paintbrushes, and fountain pens. The exact referent depends on context: calligraphy or painting vs everyday writing.

noun
stiff-haired writing brush (for calligraphy)water-color paintbrushfountain pen
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • 水笔。
    Tā yòng shuǐ bǐ huà le yì fú shuǐ mò huà.
    He used a water-color paintbrush to paint an ink wash painting.
  • 水笔。
    Zhè zhī shuǐ bǐ xiě chū lái de zì hěn xì.
    The characters written with this fountain pen are very fine.
  • 楷。
    Shū fǎ jiā xǐ huan yòng shuǐ bǐ liàn xí kǎi shū.
    Calligraphers like to practice regular script with a stiff-haired brush.

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.

水shuǐwater
笔bǐpen

水笔 uses 水, water or ink, with 笔, pen or brush.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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 →

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