筆桿子

Chinese

		pen; pencil; writing brush pen; pencil; writing brush; to write or compose; the strokes of Chinese characters	shaft
trad. (筆桿子)		筆	桿子
simp. (笔杆子)		笔	杆子

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bǐgǎnzi

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄧˇ ㄍㄢˇ ˙ㄗ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ gon¹ zi²
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): bi⁶ gan³ zr

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bǐgǎnzi [Phonetic: bígǎnzi]
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄧˇ ㄍㄢˇ ˙ㄗ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bǐgǎnzi̊h
    • Wade–Giles: pi³-kan³-tzŭ⁵
    • Yale: bǐ-gǎn-dz
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: biigaan.tzy
    • Palladius: биганьцзы (biganʹczy)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kän²¹⁴ d͡z̥z̩⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bat¹ gon¹ zi²
    • Yale: bāt gōn jí
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ gon¹ dzi²
    • Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ gon¹ ji²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ kɔːn⁵⁵ t͡siː³⁵/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: bi⁶ gan³ zr
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi²⁴ kan⁴¹ t͡sz̩³/

Noun

筆桿子

1. shaft of a pen or writing bush; penholder
2. (figuratively) pen; ability to write

   • 殺人有兩種，一種是用槍桿子殺人，一種是用筆桿子殺人。偽裝得最巧妙，殺人不見血的，是用筆殺人。 [MSC, trad.]
     杀人有两种，一种是用枪杆子杀人，一种是用笔杆子杀人。伪装得最巧妙，杀人不见血的，是用笔杀人。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1953, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《批判梁漱溟的反動思想》 (Criticism of Liang Shu-ming's Reactionary Ideas), 《毛澤東選集·第五卷》 (Selected Works of Mao Zedong: Volume V) (1977). English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Shārén yǒu liǎng zhǒng, yī zhǒng shì yòng qiānggǎnzi shārén, yī zhǒng shì yòng bǐgǎnzi shārén. Wěizhuāng de zuì qiǎomiào, shārénbùjiànxiě de, shì yòng bǐ shārén. [Pinyin]

     There are two ways of killing people: one is to kill with the gun and the other with the pen. The way which is most artfully disguised and draws no blood is to kill with the pen.

3. (figuratively) effective writer

Synonyms

• (shaft of a pen): 筆桿／笔杆 (bǐgǎn)
• (good writer): 筆桿／笔杆 (bǐgǎn)
• (ability to write): 筆桿／笔杆 (bǐgǎn)