毛笔 (máobǐ): writing brush; calligraphy brush

Measure Word

一支毛笔 zhī

Meanings

1 writing brush; calligraphy brush
2 Chinese ink brush

Characters

pen; writing instrument

A writing instrument made of hair — the traditional Chinese brush.

Examples

他用毛笔写了一幅字。

Tāyòng máobǐ xiě le yī fú zì.

He wrote a piece of calligraphy with a brush.

学书法首先要学会拿毛笔。

Xué shūfǎ shǒuxiān yào xuéhuì ná máobǐ.

To learn calligraphy, you first need to learn how to hold a brush.

这支毛笔是用羊毫做的。

Zhè zhī máobǐ shì yòng yáng háo zuò de.

This brush is made of goat hair.

Tips

culture

毛笔 is one of the 文房四宝 (wénfáng sì bǎo) — the 'Four Treasures of the Study': brush (毛笔), ink (墨), paper (纸), and inkstone (砚).

usage

Compare with 铅笔 (qiānbǐ, pencil), 钢笔 (gāngbǐ, fountain pen), 圆珠笔 (yuánzhūbǐ, ballpoint pen).

Stroke Order

毛 máo

笔 bǐ

Related Words

毛笔字 máobǐzì

brush calligraphy / characters written with a writing brush

笔墨纸砚 bǐmò-zhǐyàn

brush, ink, paper, and ink-stone / the four tools of Chinese calligraphy

软笔书法 ruǎnbǐ shūfǎ

brush calligraphy / soft-brush calligraphy (traditional Chinese calligraphy)

笔 bǐ HSK 2 #937

pen; writing brush / stroke (in writing characters)

硬笔书法 yìngbǐ shūfǎ

hard-pen calligraphy (pen/pencil calligraphy, as opposed to brush)

毛刷 máoshuā

bristle brush / brush

钢笔 gāngbǐ HSK 5 #11,242

fountain pen

毛病 máobìng HSK 3 #2,454

fault; defect; problem / bad habit / illness; ailment

钢笔字 gāngbǐzì

pen writing / fountain-pen / ballpoint handwriting / pen-written calligraphy (hard-pen script)

涉笔 shèbǐ

to take up the brush / to start writing or painting / to set pen to paper