Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 畫 / 画 | huà |
| 繪 / 绘 | huì |
| 繪畫 / 绘画 | huìhuà |
The primary way to express the act of producing a picture is through the verb 畫 / 画. For technical contexts, such as drawing a map, diagram or chart, the phrase 畫圖 is frequently used. If you are specifically referring to the act of sketching, you should use the term 素描. In some contexts, the word for a tie in a game may be expressed using the related nouns 平局 or 和局, though these are distinct from the verb for artistic drawing.
Which one should you use?
While 畫 / 画 is a common verb, 繪畫 / 绘画 is a more formal noun used to refer to the art of painting or drawing as a discipline. For informal or messy drawing, such as scribbling or creating graffiti-style drawings, the term 涂鸦 is used.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To say you 'drew a picture', you use the verb 畫 followed by the measure word 幅 and the noun 畫 (for example, 畫了一幅畫).
How do you pronounce it?
huà
Did you know?
- Etymologically, the word for 'draw' is related to the concept of 'cutting' or 'delineating', reflecting an ancient idea of marking lines by slicing or cutting through a surface.
- In traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting, the 'drawing' of a character or image is often viewed as 'writing' rather than 'sketching'.
Examples in context
- 他喜欢在空白纸上画画。He enjoys drawing on a blank piece of paper.
- 她参加了一个绘画比赛。She participated in a painting competition.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “draw” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 畫, 繪, CC BY-SA 4.0.
