How to say “pen” in Chinese
pen, pencil
“Pen” in Chinese is 笔, bǐ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
笔 is read bǐ. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 竹 “bamboo”: a brush with a bamboo handle.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “笔”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 笔. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你有笔吗？nǐyǒubǐmaDo you have a pen?
- 上课的时候要记笔记shàngkèdeshíhouyàojìbǐjìYou should take notes in class.
- 我的笔试合格了wǒdebǐshìhégéleI passed the written exam!
- 明天上午有笔试míngtiānshàngwǔyǒubǐshìThere's a written exam tomorrow morning.
- 他没好好复习结果笔试没合格tāméihǎohǎofùxí,jiéguǒbǐshìméihégéHe didn't review properly and ended up failing the written exam.
- 我这次笔试没合格。wǒzhècìbǐshìméihégéI failed the written exam this time.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Pants, a watch, a bag”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “pen” in Chinese?
“Pen” in Chinese is 笔, pinyin bǐ.
What does 笔 mean?
笔 (bǐ) means “pen, pencil”.
How do you write 笔?
笔 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 笔?
笔 is read bǐ. Tones: bǐ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“pen” in the lesson “Pants, a watch, a bag”
This word is from the topic “Things, colors, food” of HSK 2. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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