qiān bǐ
pencil
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我需要一支铅笔来写字。
wǒ xūyào yī zhī qiānbǐ lái xiězì.
I need a pencil to write.
铅笔的芯断了。
qiānbǐ de xīn duànle.
The pencil lead is broken.
用铅笔画画很有趣。
yòng qiānbǐ huàhuà hěn yǒuqù.
It's fun to draw with a pencil.
铅笔头 (qiānbǐtóu)
pencil lead
铅笔芯 (qiānbǐxīn)
pencil core
钢笔 (gāng bǐ)
fountain pen
圆珠笔 (yuán zhū bǐ)
ballpoint pen
The Chinese word for pencil is 铅笔 (qiānbǐ), which is composed of two characters: 铅 (qiān) and 笔 (bǐ). The character 铅 originally meant "lead", and was later used to refer to graphite, the main component of modern pencils. The character 笔 originally meant "brush", and was later used to refer to any writing instrument, including pencils. So, the word 铅笔 literally means "lead brush", which is a very accurate description of what a pencil is.
