提笔

提筆
tíbǐ
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to take up one's pen
  2. 2 to start to write
  3. 3 to put pen to paper

Examples

HSK 1
Tā tíbǐ xiěxià le dìyī háng zì.
He took up his pen and wrote the first line.
HSK 4
Wǒ měicì xiǎng gěi tā xiěxìn, què yòu tíbǐ nán xià.
Every time I want to write her a letter, I can't put pen to paper.

Tips

usage
Common in literary contexts and formal letters. The set phrase 提笔忘字 (tíbǐ wàng zì, 'pick up the pen and forget the character') is now widely used to describe the modern phenomenon of forgetting how to handwrite Chinese after relying on pinyin input.

Stroke Order