画 (huà) - To paint & to draw

画Tone 4

huà ｜ 8 strokes ｜ radical: 田

枫惠

画 · huà

To paint;

to draw;

a picture;

painting;

drawing;

to mark;

to delineate;

to plan.

To paintto drawa picture

Usage highlights

To paint/drawChinese paintingOil paintingCartoonPainting and calligraphyPlan/design

Synonyms

  • 绘— to paint, to draw
  • 描— to trace, to sketch
  • 图— picture, diagram

Antonyms

  • 擦— to erase, to wipe
  • 抹— to smear, to obliterate

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He likes to draw pictures (画画).
  • This is a traditional Chinese painting (国画).
  • She is good at oil painting (油画).
  • We need to draw a boundary (画界线).

Collocations

  • To paint/draw(画画)
  • Chinese painting(国画)
  • Oil painting(油画)
  • Cartoon(漫画)
  • Painting and calligraphy(书画)
  • Plan/design(规划)

Idioms

  • Draw a snake and add feet(画蛇添足)
  • Draw cakes to allay hunger(画饼充饥)
  • Draw the eyes when painting a dragon(画龙点睛)
  • As beautiful as a painting(如画一般)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • One of the core concepts in Chinese art, closely associated with calligraphy in the tradition of 'poetry, calligraphy, and painting' (诗书画).
  • In traditional Chinese culture, painting is not just representation but expression of the artist's spirit and philosophy.
  • The character itself depicts a hand holding a brush drawing boundaries around a field, reflecting its original meaning of demarcation.

FAQ