notebook; laptop
HSK level
笔记本 is written with 20 strokes (笔: 10, 记: 5, 本: 5). The animation replays automatically.
笔记本 (bǐjìběn) is a noun meaning 'notebook' — literally a 'pen-notes book' for writing in.
In modern usage it has a second, now-dominant meaning: 'laptop,' short for 笔记本电脑 ('notebook computer'). Context decides which is meant, and when it matters speakers add the qualifier: 我买了一台笔记本 (a laptop, counted with 台) versus 我买了一个笔记本 (often a paper one, counted with 本 or 个).
English speakers should note that the everyday word for a small paper notebook is more often 本子 (běnzi); 笔记本 sounds slightly more specific or, increasingly, points to the computer. It is neutral in register and common in student, office, and shopping contexts.
Note: Neutral. In everyday speech 笔记本 alone increasingly means a laptop; when clarity is needed, people say 笔记本电脑 for the computer and 本子 for the paper notebook.
Character by character
Memory hook: 笔 (pen) + 记 (record) + 本 (book): a pen-record-book — a notebook (and by extension the laptop that replaced it).
我买了一个新的笔记本记单词。
Wǒ mǎile yí gè xīn de bǐjìběn jì dāncí.
I bought a new notebook to write down words.
spoken
他的笔记本电脑又轻又快。
Tā de bǐjìběn diànnǎo yòu qīng yòu kuài.
His laptop is both light and fast.
neutral
上课的时候我喜欢用笔记本记东西。
Shàngkè de shíhou wǒ xǐhuan yòng bǐjìběn jì dōngxi.
During class I like using a notebook to write things down.
spoken
请把笔记本带来，我们一起复习。
Qǐng bǎ bǐjìběn dàilái, wǒmen yìqǐ fùxí.
Please bring your notebook; let's review together.
neutral
本子 is the casual, everyday word for a paper notebook or exercise book, and never means a computer. Use 本子 for the physical writing pad; use 笔记本 when you want the fuller word or mean a laptop.
笔记本电脑 is the full, unambiguous term for a laptop. Say it when 笔记本 alone might be misread as a paper notebook.
笔记 (without 本) means 'notes' — the content you write down, as in 记笔记 ('take notes'). 笔记本 is the physical notebook or laptop that holds them.
课本 is a 'textbook' — a printed book you read from. 笔记本 is blank for writing in, or a laptop. Both end in 本 but serve opposite purposes.
Acquire it by listening
Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 笔记本 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.
