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画笔 (huà bǐ) — paintbrush

Definition

noun
paintbrush
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • 画笔。
    Tā yòng zhè zhī huà bǐ huà le yì fú shān shuǐ huà.
    He used this paintbrush to paint a landscape.
  • 画笔。
    Wǒ de huà bǐ fàng zài huà shì lǐ le.
    My paintbrush is in the studio.
  • 画笔。
    Tā mǎi le yí tào xīn de huà bǐ.
    She bought a new set of paintbrushes.

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.

画huàpainting
笔bǐbrush

The meaning comes from 画 specifying the use of 笔, a brush for painting.

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 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 →

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
Art & Fine Arts

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