铅 qiān
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 钅 — gold, metal
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
铅笔
qiānbǐ
pencil
Characters in this word
笔 bǐ
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- ⺮ — bamboo
- Made of
- ⺮ bamboo 毛 hair, fur, feathers
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 你有铅笔吗？ Nǐ yǒu qiānbǐ ma? Do you have a pencil?
- 考试要用铅笔写。 Kǎoshì yào yòng qiānbǐ xiě. You have to write the exam in pencil.
- 我买了三支铅笔。 Wǒ mǎi le sān zhī qiānbǐ. I bought three pencils.