Meaning
筆 means writing brush, pen, or anything tied to the act of writing — handwriting, a stroke of the pen, penmanship, literary composition. For centuries, the brush was the primary tool of scholars, poets, and officials across East Asia, making this one of the most culturally loaded kanji in the tradition.
Structurally, 筆 is a compound ideograph. The top part, 竹 (take), is bamboo — the material of a traditional brush shaft. The bottom part, 聿 (itsu), is an ancient character showing a hand gripping a writing instrument. Stack them and you get exactly what the kanji means: a hand holding a bamboo brush.
Twelve strokes, Grade 3 elementary. The radical is 竹 (bamboo, #118), which also appears in 箱 (hako, box) and 篭 (kago, basket). In daily life today, physical brushes are mostly limited to calligraphy and painting — yet 筆 turns up constantly in compounds for pens, pencils, writing, and authorship.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
ヒツ (hitsu) is the on'yomi, borrowed from Chinese. It dominates formal compound words — academic writing, literary criticism, professional documents.
- 筆記 (hikki) — note-taking, writing down; as in 筆記試験 (written examination)
- 筆者 (hissha) — the author, the writer (of a document or article)
- 筆跡 (hisseki) — handwriting, penmanship; often used in forensic or calligraphic contexts
- 随筆 (zuihitsu) — essay, literary sketch; literally "following the brush," a classical Japanese prose genre
- 筆頭 (hittou) — the top of a list, the leading name; literally "the head of the brush"
- 代筆 (daihitsu) — writing on someone else's behalf, ghostwriting
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi is ふで (fude) — the native Japanese word for the brush as a physical object. Where ヒツ is formal and abstract, ふで stays concrete and tactile, typically referring to the brush you can hold in your hand.
- 筆 (fude) — a brush (writing or painting), used alone
- 毛筆 (mouhitsu) — a traditional hair-tipped writing brush (mo = hair/fur)
- 絵筆 (efude) — a paintbrush; literally "picture brush"
- 細筆 (hosofude) — a thin brush for fine detail work
Common Words & Compounds
筆 turns up across a wide range of compounds. Here are the most useful, grouped by theme.
Writing Instruments
- 鉛筆 (enpitsu) — pencil; literally "lead brush," one of the first kanji compounds students encounter
- 万年筆 (mannenhitsu) — fountain pen; literally "ten-thousand-year brush," suggesting it lasts forever
- 毛筆 (mouhitsu) — traditional calligraphy brush made with animal hair
- 絵筆 (efude) — artist's paintbrush
Writing & Authorship
- 筆記 (hikki) — writing, taking notes; used in 筆記体 (cursive script)
- 筆者 (hissha) — author, the writer of the piece at hand
- 筆名 (hitsumei) — pen name, nom de plume
- 代筆 (daihitsu) — ghostwriting, writing for someone else
- 随筆 (zuihitsu) — classical Japanese essay genre, pioneered by works like the Pillow Book
Skill & Style
- 筆跡 (hisseki) — handwriting style, penmanship
- 筆力 (hitsuryoku) — the force or expressiveness of one's writing or brushwork
- 筆算 (hissan) — written calculation (as opposed to mental arithmetic)
- 筆頭 (hittou) — top of the list, the foremost person or item
- 一筆 (hitofude) — a single brushstroke; also used to mean a brief note or letter
Example Sentences
鉛筆で名前を書いてください。
Enpitsu de namae wo kaite kudasai.
Please write your name in pencil.
この筆記試験は二時間です。
Kono hikki shiken wa nijikan desu.
This written examination is two hours long.
彼女は万年筆で手紙を書くのが好きです。
Kanojo wa mannenhitsu de tegami wo kaku no ga suki desu.
She likes writing letters with a fountain pen.
先生の筆跡はとても美しいです。
Sensei no hisseki wa totemo utsukushii desu.
The teacher's handwriting is beautiful.
授業中にノートへ筆記するのは大切です。
Jugyouchuu ni nooto e hikki suru no wa taisetsu desu.
Taking notes during class is important.
この随筆は江戸時代に書かれたものです。
Kono zuihitsu wa Edo jidai ni kakareta mono desu.
This essay was written during the Edo period.
筆者は自分の意見を明確に述べています。
Hissha wa jibun no iken wo meikaku ni nobete imasu.
The author states their opinion clearly.
彼は筆名を使って小説を発表した。
Kare wa hitsumei wo tsukatte shousetsu wo happyou shita.
He published his novel under a pen name.
書道の授業で毛筆の使い方を習いました。
Shodou no jugyou de mouhitsu no tsukaikata wo naraimashita.
I learned proper brush technique in my shodo class.
一筆でいいので、感想を送ってください。
Hitofude de ii no de, kansou wo okutte kudasai.
Even just a brief note is fine — please send me your thoughts.
Memory Tip
Picture a scholar snapping a stalk from a bamboo grove, trimming it, and attaching soft hairs to one end. That image lives inside the kanji: 竹 (bamboo) on top, 聿 (a hand gripping a shaft) below. Whenever you see 筆, picture that bamboo brush poised over paper — 竹 + 聿 = 筆 = brush.
Vietnamese learners get a bonus connection: 筆 is the direct ancestor of the everyday word bút (pen). Same character, same meaning, a thousand years apart.