笔 (bǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “pen”. It is written from ⺮ (bamboo radical (top form of 竹)) and 毛 (hair; fur; feather), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “pen”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
⺮ + 毛
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 10 笔核验：⺮ 6 笔 + 毛 4 笔）
Memory aid
A bamboo (⺮) stick on top, a tuft of hair (毛) below — together they make a brush you can write with: a pen.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 铅笔qiān bǐpencil笔 = bǐ
- 毛笔máo bǐwriting brush笔 = bǐ
- 笔记bǐ jìnotes (written down)笔 = bǐ
- 笔尖bǐ jiānpen tip; nib; the point of a pen or pencil笔 = bǐ
- 笔杆bǐ gǎnthe shaft of a pen or brush笔 = bǐ
Go deeper
All readings
pen
pen; pencil; writing brush; stroke (of a character)
写字画图的用具；也指汉字的笔画。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 铅笔qiān bǐpencil笔 = bǐ
- 毛笔máo bǐwriting brush笔 = bǐ
- 笔记bǐ jìnotes (written down)笔 = bǐ
- 笔尖bǐ jiānpen tip; nib; the point of a pen or pencil笔 = bǐ
- 笔杆bǐ gǎnthe shaft of a pen or brush笔 = bǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 笔 mean?
笔 (bǐ) means pen; pencil; writing brush; stroke (of a character).
How do you pronounce 笔?
It is pronounced bǐ.
What parts is 笔 made of?
⺮ (bamboo radical (top form of 竹)) and 毛 (hair; fur; feather), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 10 笔核验：⺮ 6 笔 + 毛 4 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 笔 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 笔?
竹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 笔?
Common ones are 铅笔, 毛笔, 笔记. The reading of 笔 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.