gāng bǐ
pen; fountain pen
我有一支钢笔。
wǒ yǒu yī zhī gāng bǐ.
I have a pen.
钢笔的墨水用完了。
gāng bǐ de mò shuǐ yòng wán le.
The pen is out of ink.
请把钢笔借给我用一下。
qǐng bǎ gāng bǐ jiè gěi wǒ yòng yī xià.
Please lend me your pen.
钢笔 (gāng bǐ)
fountain pen
自来水笔 (zì lái shuǐ bǐ)
fountain pen
铅笔 (qiānbǐ)
pencil
圆珠笔 (yuánzhūbǐ)
ballpoint pen
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The Chinese word 钢笔 (gāng bǐ) for "fountain pen" is a compound of two characters: 钢 (gāng), meaning "steel", and 笔 (bǐ), meaning "brush" or "pen". The character 钢 originally referred to a type of hard metal made from iron and carbon, and was later used to refer to steel in general. The character 笔 has been used for thousands of years to refer to writing instruments, and its original form depicted a hand holding a brush.When combined, the characters 钢 and 笔 form the compound word 钢笔, which specifically refers to a fountain pen. This type of pen uses a reservoir of ink that flows to the nib through a feed system, allowing for smooth and continuous writing. The term 钢笔 is commonly used in modern Chinese to refer to fountain pens, and is distinct from other types of pens such as ballpoint pens (圆珠笔) and gel pens (啫喱笔).
