畵 (huà) - To paint & to draw

畵Tone 4

huà ｜ 13 strokes ｜ radical:

枫惠

畵 · huà

To paint;

to draw;

a painting;

a drawing;

a picture;

also refers to planning or scheming.

To paintto drawa painting

Usage highlights

PaintingChinese paintingOil paintingWatercolor paintingLandscape paintingCartoon

Synonyms

  • 绘— to draw; to paint
  • 描— to trace; to depict

Antonyms

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

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • She likes to paint landscapes (风景画).
  • This is a traditional Chinese painting (国画).
  • He drew a sketch (素描画).
  • The artist is painting a portrait (肖像画).

Collocations

  • Painting(绘画)
  • Chinese painting(国画)
  • Oil painting(油画)
  • Watercolor painting(水彩画)
  • Landscape painting(山水画)
  • Cartoon(漫画)

Idioms

  • Drawing cakes to allay hunger(画饼充饥)
  • Drawing a snake and adding feet(画蛇添足)
  • Delimit the boundaries(画地为牢)
  • As if drawing a gourd from a model(照葫芦画瓢)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • One of the core concepts in Chinese art, with a history spanning thousands of years.
  • Closely associated with calligraphy, as both use similar tools (brush, ink, paper/silk).
  • Traditional Chinese painting emphasizes spiritual resonance and artistic conception over realistic representation.

FAQ