笔迹 (bǐ jì) — handwriting | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

handwriting

Examples

笔迹。
Tā de bǐ jì fēi cháng gōng zhěng.
His handwriting is very neat.
笔迹。
Jǐng chá tōng guò bǐ jì zhǎo dào le xián yí rén.
The police found the suspect through the handwriting.
笔迹。
Wǒ de bǐ jì yuè lái yuè nán kàn le.
My handwriting is getting uglier.

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.

笔bǐpen

迹jìtrace

笔 means pen and 迹 means trace, together the marks made by a pen.

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 筆; 笔 is its simplified writing.

竹聿筆

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòmove

Sound part声符shēngfú

朿

朿cì迹jì

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迹 pairs 辶, a movement part, with 亦, a sound part; an older form used 朿.

Open 迹 →

Appears in

Reading & Writing