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钢笔 (gāng bǐ) — fountain pen

Definition

A pen with a metal nib that uses ink (common for writing Chinese characters). Compare with 铅笔 (pencil, erasable) and 毛笔 (traditional writing brush, used in calligraphy).

noun
fountain pen
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • 钢笔。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì zhī xīn gāng bǐ.
    I bought a new fountain pen.
  • 钢笔。
    Tā yòng gāng bǐ gěi wǒ xiě le yì fēng xìn.
    He wrote me a letter with a fountain pen.
  • 钢笔。
    Zhè zhī gāng bǐ hěn hǎo xiě.
    This fountain pen writes well.

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.

钢gāngsteel
笔bǐpen

「钢」 gives steel and 「笔」 gives pen, together meaning a steel 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 鋼; 钢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
岡
岡gāng鋼gàng
Same sound today

The traditional form 鋼 shows 金, meaning metal, next to 岡, which carries the sound gāng; the simplified 钢 is a later shorthand.

Open 钢 →

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
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