How to Write 笔 (bǐ) — Meaning “Pen, pencil, or brush”

Imagine a bamboo stick (⺮) with a tuft of hair (毛) at the end — that's a traditional writing brush. The top part looks like two bamboo leaves, and the bottom part resembles three strokes of hair, making it easy to visualize.

Keep the top bamboo radical ⺮ wider than the bottom 毛 to maintain good proportion. A common mistake is making the radical too narrow or misordering the strokes in 毛: first write a left-falling stroke, then horizontal, horizontal, and finally a vertical hook.

笔 has 毛 (hair) as its bottom part, while 笑 has 夭 (a young person) and 笨 has 本 (root) underneath the same bamboo radical. The meaning is also different: 笔 relates to writing tools, 笑 means laugh, and 笨 means stupid.

笔 is used for any writing instrument such as a pencil, pen, or brush. It appears in common words like 铅笔 (pencil) and 笔记 (notes), and has cultural significance as the tool for traditional calligraphy, a highly respected art form in Chinese culture.

Common words containing 笔 include: 铅笔 (qiān bǐ) — pencil; 笔记 (bǐ jì) — notes; 毛笔 (máo bǐ) — Writing brush.