投筆
Chinese
| to throw; to send | pen; pencil; writing brush pen; pencil; writing brush; to write or compose; the strokes of Chinese characters | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (投筆) | 投 | 筆 | |
| simp. (投笔) | 投 | 笔 | |
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: tóubǐ
- Zhuyin: ㄊㄡˊ ㄅㄧˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: tóubǐ
- Wade–Giles: tʻou2-pi3
- Yale: tóu-bǐ
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tourbii
- Palladius: тоуби (toubi)
- Sinological IPA (key): /tʰoʊ̯³⁵ pi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: tau4 bat1
- Yale: tàuh bāt
- Cantonese Pinyin: tau4 bat7
- Guangdong Romanization: teo4 bed1
- Sinological IPA (key): /tʰɐu̯²¹ pɐt̚⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Verb
投筆
- (literary, figurative, of a writer) to cease writing; to forsake the pen (for something else)
- 無路請纓，等終軍之弱冠；有懷投筆，慕宗慤之長風。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: 675, Preface to the Prince Teng's Pavilion, translated by Victor H. Mair
- Wú lù qǐngyīng, děng Zhōng Jūn zhī ruòguàn; yǒu huái tóubǐ, mù Zōng Què zhī chángfēng. [Pinyin]
- I, Wang Bo, am but a minor official who wears a short sash; a mere student and a rather bookish one at that. The way is not open for me to request the tokens of an important mission as Zhong Jun did, though I am still in my twenties as he was; I yearn to throw aside my writing-brush in admiration of Zong Que's far-ranging aspiration.
无路请缨，等终军之弱冠；有怀投笔，慕宗悫之长风。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]