畫 meaning and stroke order
Picture, painting, drawing; to draw
How to write 畫, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Meaning of 畫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to draw; to paint
- picture; painting (CL:幅[fu2],張|张[zhang1])
- to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[hua4])
- stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[hua4])
- (calligraphy) horizontal stroke (variant of 劃|划[hua4])
How 畫 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To paint 聿 a canvas 田 on an easel 一.
Radical: 田 (field), shared by 46 characters on this site.
How to remember 畫
The top part 聿 is a hand holding a brush, and below it 田 is a canvas resting on an easel 一. Picture a brush painting a square canvas, and you have 畫 (huà), to paint or a painting.
畫 (huà) is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, while mainland China writes 画. It works as a verb (to draw) and a noun (a painting), and pairs with measure words like 幅 (fú) or 張 (zhāng). Example: 她畫了一幅山水畫。(Tā huà le yì fú shānshuǐ huà.) She painted a landscape painting.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 畫 with 書 (shū, book) and 晝 (zhòu, daytime), which share the same 聿 top. Check the bottom: 畫 has 田 sitting on a line, 書 has 曰, and 晝 has 日 over a line.
Common words with 畫
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 畫家 | huàjiā | painter | HSK 2 |
| 畫兒 | huàr | picture; drawing | HSK 2 |
| 圖畫 | túhuà | drawing; picture | HSK 3 |
| 動畫片 | dònghuàpiàn | animated film | HSK 4 |
| 畫面 | huàmiàn | scene; tableau | HSK 5 |
| 漫畫 | mànhuà | comics; cartoon; caricature | HSK 5 |
| 繪畫 | huìhuà | to draw; to paint | HSK 6 |
| 動畫 | dònghuà | animation; cartoon | HSK 6 |
| 油畫 | yóuhuà | oil painting | HSK 7-9 |
| 壁畫 | bìhuà | mural (painting); fresco | HSK 7-9 |
| 指手畫腳 | zhǐshǒu-huàjiǎo | to gesticulate while talking (idiom); to explain by waving one's hands | HSK 7-9 |
| 畫展 | huàzhǎn | art exhibition | HSK 7-9 |
| 勾畫 | gōuhuà | to sketch out; to delineate | HSK 7-9 |
| 國畫 | guóhuà | traditional Chinese painting | HSK 7-9 |
Characters that contain 畫
Learning 畫 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 畫
How many strokes are in 畫?
畫 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 畫 mean?
畫 (huà) means picture, painting, drawing; to draw. A common word with it is 画家 (huàjiā), meaning "painter".
How do you pronounce 畫?
畫 is pronounced huà, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 畫?
The radical of 畫 is 田, which carries the idea of "field". Dictionaries list 畫 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 畫?
畫 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 画, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 畫 and 劃?
畫 mainly means to draw or a picture, while 劃 means to mark, scratch, or plan, as in 計劃 (jìhuà, plan). In older usage 畫 can also mean a stroke or drawing a line, so you may see both, but 劃 is preferred for planning and dividing.
How do you say to draw a picture in everyday speech?
The most common phrase is 畫畫 (huà huà) or 畫畫兒 (huà huàr), where the first 畫 is the verb and the second is the noun. For example, 我喜歡畫畫。(Wǒ xǐhuan huà huà.) means I like drawing.