匹 meaning in English
(bound form) matching; comparable to; (bound form) alone; single; one of a pair
Meaning of 匹
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (bound form) matching; comparable to
- (bound form) alone; single; one of a pair
- classifier for horses, mules etc (Taiwan pr. [pi1])
- classifier for cloth: bolt
- horsepower
- variant of 匹[pi3]
- classifier for cloth: bolt
How to use 匹
匹 is mainly a measure word for horses and similar animals, and for bolts of cloth. It also appears in words about matching, such as 匹配 (pǐpèi) and 匹敌 (pǐdí). Example: 一匹马 (yì pǐ mǎ) one horse.
Picture 匹 (pǐ) as a stable seen from above: the open frame 匸 is the stall, and 儿 inside looks like the legs of one horse standing in it. One stall, one horse, so 匹 counts horses.
Common mistake: Learners often write 四 (sì) or 区 (qū) instead of 匹 because the frames look similar. 匹 opens on the right like 区, and its inside is 儿, not the 乂 of 区. Another trap is using 只 (zhī) for horses. Use 匹 for horses and 只 for most small animals.
匹 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.
匹 pǐ · matching · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 匹.
Questions about 匹
What does 匹 mean?
匹 (pǐ) means "(bound form) matching; comparable to; (bound form) alone; single; one of a pair" and is used as a measure word.
How do you write 匹?
匹 is made of 1 character: 匹 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 匹 an HSK word?
Yes. 匹 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can I use 匹 for cows or dogs?
Not usually. Cows take 头 (tóu) and dogs take 只 (zhī) or 条 (tiáo). 匹 is for horses, mules, donkeys and similar animals, plus cloth.
What does 单枪匹马 mean and how is it used?
单枪匹马 (dānqiāngpǐmǎ) literally means one spear and one horse. It describes doing something alone without help, as in 他单枪匹马完成了项目 (tā dānqiāngpǐmǎ wánchéng le xiàngmù), he finished the project single-handed.