笔 (bǐ): writing brush, writing implement (pen, pencil etc), brushstroke, stroke (in painting or calligraphy), (bound form) style of writing, literary manner, technique of brushwork
笔 (bǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “writing brush.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (structural) and 毛 (structural). It ranks #956 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 笔 a bamboo rod ⺮ tipped with hair 毛. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六 "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for).
Definitions
- writing brush
- writing implement (pen, pencil etc)
- brushstroke
- stroke (in painting or calligraphy)
- (bound form) style of writing
- literary manner
- technique of brushwork
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA bamboo rod ⺮ tipped with hair 毛
Decomposition: ⿱⺮毛 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 笔 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 笔
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 笔记本noun | bǐ jì běn | notebook (stationery) | 3 |
| 笔记noun | bǐ jì | to take down (in writing) | 3 |
| 铅笔noun | qiān bǐ | (lead) pencil | 3 |
| 钢笔noun | gāng bǐ | fountain pen | 6 |
| 笔试verb | bǐ shì | written examination | 4 |
| 毛笔noun | máo bǐ | writing brush | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 笔迹noun | bǐ jì | handwriting |
| 笔录noun | bǐ lù | to put down in writing |
| 亲笔verb | qīn bǐ | in one's own handwriting |
| 大笔noun | dà bǐ | (formal) (honorific) your writing |
| 粉笔noun | fěn bǐ | chalk |
| 笔直adjective | bǐ zhí | perfectly straight |
| 蜡笔noun | là bǐ | crayon (wax type) |
| 一笔勾销phrase | yī bǐ gōu xiāo | to write off at one stroke |
| 笔名noun | bǐ míng | pen name |
| 圆珠笔noun | yuán zhū bǐ | ballpoint pen |
| 笔下noun | bǐ xià | the wording and purport of what one writes |
| 画笔noun | huà bǐ | painting brush |
| 文笔noun | wén bǐ | writings |
| 动笔verb | dòng bǐ | to put pen to paper |
| 手笔noun | shǒu bǐ | sth written or painted in one's own hand |
笔 appears in 101 compound words: 44 as the first character, 53 as the last, and 3 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 笔 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
the finishing touch to a painting; the crucial point that brings the subject to life
to forget how to write Chinese characters; to suffer from character amnesia
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 笔.
Example Sentences
笔字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
bǐ zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character "笔" is written is quite unique and left a deep impression on me.
...er Laptop Sleeve 16 笔记本内胆包:可选 15W 双磁吸无线充电...
. . . e r L a p t o p S l e e v e 1 6 bǐ jì běn nèi dǎn bāo : kě xuǎn 1 5 W shuāng cí xī wú xiàn chōng diàn . . .
... er Laptop Sleeve 16 Laptop Sleeve Bag: Optional 15W Dual Magnetic Wireless Charging...
AI化身神队友 台中市以科技温度守护每一笔实价登录
A I huà shēn shén duì yǒu tái zhōng shì yǐ kē jì wēn dù shǒu hù měi yī bǐ shí jià dēng lù
AI incarnates as a god teammate Taichung City guards every real price login with scientific and technological temperature
健康主题馆/懒人减重法 抖脚、转笔、做家事、站着说话都行
jiàn kāng zhǔ tí guǎn lǎn rén jiǎn chóng fǎ dǒu jiǎo , zhuǎn bǐ , zuò jiā shì , zhàn zhe shuō huà dōu háng
Health theme hall/lazy weight loss method Shake your feet, turn the pen, do housework, stand and talk
开工开学换机潮 Yahoo购物:AI笔电业绩涨3成
kāi gōng kāi xué huàn jī cháo Y a h o o gòu wù : A I bǐ diàn yè jì zhǎng 3 chéng
Yahoo Shopping: AI notebook performance rose by 30%
笔下风云:一败涂地 等被弹劾
bǐ xià fēng yún : yī bài tú dì děng bèi dàn 劾
The pen is in turmoil: a complete failure and other impeachment
我能用一下你的铅笔吗？
Wǒ néng yòng yīxià nǐ de qiānbǐ ma?
Can I borrow your pencil for a bit?
这支钢笔要多少钱？
Zhè zhī gāngbǐ yào duōshao qián?
How much is this pen?
那家店卖笔记本吗？
Nà jiā diàn mài bǐjìběn ma?
Do they sell notebooks at that store?
你有没有红色的铅笔？
Nǐ yǒuméiyǒu hóngsè de qiānbǐ?
Do you have a red pencil?
Character Family
竹 Radical Family — Characters sharing the bamboo radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 笔 (bǐ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 笔 have?
What is the radical of 笔?
What are the components of 笔?
What are common words containing 笔?
What characters sound the same as 笔 (bǐ)?
Is 笔 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 笔 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.