画 (huà): to draw, painting
画 (huà) is a Chinese character meaning “to draw, painting.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 一 (structural), 凵 (structural) and 田 (structural). It ranks #883 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 画 a painting on an easel; compare 畫, which includes the brush. Its radical form 田 (field) appears in many related characters such as 电 (diàn, lightning), 男 (nán, male), 由 (yóu, to follow).
Definitions
- to draw, painting
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA painting on an easel; compare 畫, which includes the brush
Decomposition: ⿱一⿶凵田 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 画 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 画
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 漫画noun | màn huà | caricature | 6 |
| 画面noun | huà miàn | scene | 5 |
| 画家noun | huà jiā | painter | 3 |
| 绘画verb | huì huà | to draw | 6 |
| 动画noun | dòng huà | animation | 5 |
| 图画noun | tú huà | drawing | 5 |
| 国画noun | guó huà | traditional Chinese painting | 5 |
| 书画noun | shū huà | painting and calligraphy | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 画廊noun | huà láng | art gallery |
| 画画verb | huà huà | to draw |
| 画像noun | huà xiàng | portrait |
| 动画片noun | dòng huà piàn | animated film |
| 指手画脚 | zhǐ shǒu huà jiǎo | to gesticulate while talking (idiom) |
| 油画noun | yóu huà | oil painting |
| 画作noun | huà zuò | painting |
| 壁画noun | bì huà | mural (painting) |
| 画布noun | huà bù | canvas (artist's painting surface) |
| 作画verb | zuò huà | to draw |
| 画师noun | huà shī | (art) painter |
| 漫画家noun | màn huà jiā | cartoon writer (from Japanese mangaka) |
| 画报noun | huà bào | illustrated magazine |
| 画展noun | huà zhǎn | art exhibition |
| 连环画noun | lián huán huà | lianhuanhua (graphic novel) |
画 appears in 101 compound words: 36 as the first character, 52 as the last, and 12 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 画 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to feed on illusions; (of something attractive-looking) to be of no actual use; like a pie in the sky
something one step away from perfection; to put on the finishing touches
the Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar (i.e. qin, go, calligraphy, and painting)
to feed on illusions; (of something attractive-looking) to be of no actual use; like a pie in the sky
the Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar (i.e. qin, go, calligraphy, and painting)
Showing 11 of 12 idioms containing 画.
Example Sentences
这幅画是著名画家的作品，价值连城。
Zhè fú huà shì zhùmíng huàjiā de zuòpǐn, jiàzhí liánchéng.
This painting is the work of a famous artist and is extremely valuable.
年味上墙!静安这幅“邻里新画卷”,让老小区变成了“..
nián wèi shàng qiáng ! jìng ān zhè fú lín lǐ xīn huà juǎn , ràng lǎo xiǎo qū biàn chéng le . .
New Year's flavor on the wall! Jing'an's "new picture of the neighborhood" has turned the old community into a ":
寻马记|能看到86匹灵动骏马的北齐壁画博物馆
xún mǎ jì néng kàn dào 8 6 pǐ líng dòng jùn mǎ de běi qí bì huà bó wù guǎn
The Northern Qi Mural Museum where you can see 86 smart horses
...州烟火气·黔味中国年丨览林城山色,赏乌江画廊,赴..
. . . zhōu yān huǒ qì 黔 wèi zhōng guó nián 丨 lǎn lín chéng shān sè , shǎng wū jiāng huà láng , fù . .
... The Chinese New Year in Qianqian - A Taste of China
文物日历|2月18日·雨水:井饮图壁画砖
wén wù rì lì yuè rì yǔ shuǐ jǐng yǐn tú bì huà zhuān
Cultural Heritage Calendar | February 18 · Rain Water: Well Drinking Scene Mural Brick
...律宾海警在南海投放不明物体被抓现行,监控画面公布
. . . lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī bèi zhuā xiàn háng , jiān kòng huà miàn gōng bù
Philippine Coast Guard caught red-handed deploying unidentified objects in South China Sea; surveillance footage released
那幅画有多少年了？
Nà fú huà yǒu duōshao nián le?
How old is that painting?
你知道这张画是谁画的吗？
Nǐ zhīdào zhè zhāng huà shì shéi huà de ma?
Do you know who painted this picture?
你是个很棒的画家，不是吗？
Nǐ shì gè hěn bàng de huàjiā, bùshìma?
You're a good painter, aren't you?
你认识画里面的男孩吗？
Nǐ rènshi huà lǐmiàn de nánhái ma?
Do you know the boy in the picture?
Character Family
田 Radical Family — Characters sharing the field radical
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 画 (huà)?
Is 画 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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