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筆桿

简笔杆 · 繁筆桿

Mandarin · pinyin bǐ gǎn

the shaft of a pen or writing brush
(metonym) pen (as in 耍筆桿 shuǎ bǐ gǎn and 搖筆桿 yáo bǐ gǎn)

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Characters in this entry

筆: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
桿: Look up this written character
笔: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
杆: gān · pole; shaft of spear

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · bi3 gan3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

筆桿 · find source passages ↗ · 笔杆 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 gon1

Cantonese word readings for 筆桿. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

shaft of a pen or writing bush; penholder
(figuratively) good writer; literary spokesman
(figuratively) ability to write

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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