铅笔
pencil
qiānbǐ
What does 铅笔 mean?
铅笔 (qiānbǐ) means 'pencil' — the standard wooden writing tool with a graphite (originally lead) core. It is a transparent compound: 铅 ('lead, the metal') + 笔 ('writing implement'), reflecting the historical belief that the gray core was lead. Native speakers count pencils with 支 (zhī), the measure word for long, thin objects: 一支铅笔 ('one pencil'), 三支铅笔 ('three pencils'). 笔 is the family name for all writing instruments — pen-shaped tools take 笔 as the second character: 钢笔 (gāngbǐ, 'fountain pen'), 圆珠笔 (yuánzhūbǐ, 'ballpoint pen'), 毛笔 (máobǐ, 'calligraphy brush'), 彩色铅笔 (cǎisè qiānbǐ, 'colored pencil'). For 'mechanical pencil,' use 自动铅笔 (zìdòng qiānbǐ).
Character breakdown
lead (the metal)
pen; writing implement
Memory hook: 铅 (lead) + 笔 (pen) = a 'lead pen' — exactly what early Europeans thought a pencil was.
Measure word for 铅笔
Example sentences
我有一支铅笔。
Wǒ yǒu yì zhī qiānbǐ.
I have a pencil.
neutral
请用铅笔写名字。
Qǐng yòng qiānbǐ xiě míngzi.
Please write your name in pencil.
polite
这支铅笔是谁的？
Zhè zhī qiānbǐ shì shéi de?
Whose pencil is this?
spoken
孩子们喜欢用彩色铅笔画画。
Háizi men xǐhuan yòng cǎisè qiānbǐ huà huà.
Kids love drawing with colored pencils.
neutral
Common phrases with 铅笔
Don't confuse 铅笔 with
钢笔 is 'fountain pen' — 钢 means 'steel.' Same 笔 family, different metal, different tool. 铅笔 is erasable; 钢笔 uses ink.
圆珠笔 is 'ballpoint pen' — literally 'round-bead pen.' For ordinary daily writing in modern China, 圆珠笔 is more common than 铅笔.
毛笔 is the traditional 'hair brush' used for calligraphy and ink painting. Same 笔 family, but a brush, not a pencil.