How to Say "Drawing" in Chinese

画

huà

The Chinese word for 'drawing' is 画 (huà).

The word 画 refers to the act of producing a picture. It functions as both a noun, meaning 'a picture' and a verb, meaning 'to draw'.

Meaning: act of producing a picture (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The character 画 can mean 'a picture', 'a painting' or the action 'to draw'.

Unlike English, which distinguishes between 'drawing' (pencil/line) and 'painting' (brush/color), the Chinese word 画 covers both activities.

The reduplicated form 画画 is the most common way to express the verb 'to draw' or the activity of 'drawing' in spoken Chinese.

huà

The phrase 画饼 literally means 'drawing a cake' and is used as an idiom to describe making empty promises that can never be fulfilled.
The term 画皮 refers to 'painted skin' and is the basis of a famous folk tale about a demon who wears a human disguise.
A common Chinese expression, 画蛇添足, literally translates to 'drawing a snake and adding feet', used to describe someone who ruins something by adding unnecessary details.

画龙点睛是一则寓言故事。
"Drawing dragons and dotting in the eyes" is a fable.
This sentence shows how 画 is used within a specific Chinese idiom.
Tatoeba #10041979 by slo_oth, translation #11272859 by Aphima
我不擅长画画，但我会写文章。
I'm not good at drawing, but I can write.
This sentence uses 画 to contrast drawing with writing.
Tatoeba #9987059 by GlossaMatik, translation #11290541 by Aphima
我喜欢画画。
I like drawing.
This sentence uses 画 to express a personal preference for the activity.
Tatoeba #1884732 by Venki, translation #7802995 by sharris123
我喜欢画画
I like drawing
我識畫
I know how to draw
2 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are looking at a piece of art in a gallery.

俊杰 Junjie

佳怡，你看这幅画。
Jiāyí, nǐ kàn zhè fú huà.
Jiayi, look at this drawing.
佳怡 Jiayi

俊杰，这幅画真的很棒。
Jùnjié, zhè fú huà zhēn de hěn bàng.
Junjie, this drawing is really great.
俊杰 Junjie

你觉得画里的颜色好看吗？
Nǐ juéde huà lǐ de yánsè hǎokàn ma?
Do you think the colors in the drawing are nice?
佳怡 Jiayi

是的，这幅画色彩很丰富。
Shì de, zhè fú huà sècǎi hěn fēngfù.
Yes, the colors in this drawing are very rich.

Sources

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