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筆談

简笔谈 · 繁筆談

Mandarin · pinyin bǐ tán

to communicate by means of written notes (instead of speaking)
to publish one's opinion (e.g. as part of a scholarly dialogue)
(in book titles) essays
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Characters in this entry

筆: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
談: tán · talk; conversation; surname
笔: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
谈: tán · talk; conversation; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · bi3 tan2

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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.

筆談 · find source passages ↗ · 笔谈 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 taam4

Cantonese word readings for 筆談. 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.

verb

to communicate by pen and paper
to express one's opinion in writing

noun

conversations; essays (often used in book titles)

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

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