Meaning of 书法
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- calligraphy
- handwriting
- penmanship
How to use 书法
书法 refers mainly to the art of Chinese calligraphy with a brush, but it can also describe someone's handwriting in general. It often appears with verbs like 练 (liàn, to practice) or 学 (xué, to learn). Example: 我爷爷每天早上练书法。(Wǒ yéye měitiān zǎoshang liàn shūfǎ.) My grandpa practices calligraphy every morning.
书法 combines 书 (shū), meaning writing or book, with 法 (fǎ), meaning method or way. So calligraphy is literally the method of writing, the art of writing characters well.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 写书法 when they mean they are writing a book. 书法 is never about authoring books, so use 写书 (xiě shū) for that. Also keep the tones clear: shū is first tone and fǎ is third tone, not fà.
书法 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
书 shū · book · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
法 fǎ · law · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 书法.
| 图书馆 | túshūguǎn | library |
| 读书 | dúshū | to read a book; to study |
| 书店 | shūdiàn | bookstore |
| 书包 | shūbāo | schoolbag; satchel |
| 办法 | bànfǎ | way of handling sth; means; measure; (practical) solution to a problem |
| 想法 | xiǎngfǎ | way of thinking; opinion; notion; to think of a way (to do sth) |
| 方法 | fāngfǎ | method; way; technique; procedure |
| 看法 | kànfǎ | way of looking at a thing; view |
| 做法 | zuòfǎ | way of handling sth; method for making |
| 合法 | héfǎ | lawful; legitimate |
| 书架 | shūjià | bookshelf |
| 无法 | wúfǎ | unable to; incapable of |
Questions about 书法
What does 书法 mean?
书法 (shūfǎ) means "calligraphy; handwriting" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 书法?
书法 is made of 2 characters: 书 (4 strokes), 法 (8 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 书法 an HSK word?
Yes. 书法 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 书法 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 书法 is written 書法.
What is the difference between 书法 and 字 when talking about handwriting?
字 (zì) is the everyday way to talk about someone's handwriting, as in 他的字很好看 (Tā de zì hěn hǎokàn), His handwriting looks nice. 书法 sounds more formal and usually means calligraphy as an art form.
How do you say calligrapher in Chinese?
A calligrapher is 书法家 (shūfǎjiā), adding 家 (jiā), which marks an expert or master in a field. You can also call someone who loves calligraphy a 书法爱好者 (shūfǎ àihàozhě), a calligraphy enthusiast.