片
disk; sheet; thin piece; flake; a slice; film; TV play; to slice; to carve thin; partial; incomplete; one-sided; used with numeral 一[yi1]: classifier for scenario, scene, feeling, atmosphere, sound etc; Kangxi radical 91
Closest English meanings
piece·slice·sheet·film
The Calligrapher — Zhāng Jízhī 张即之
Song master of vigorous regular and running script.
Song calligrapher (), master of regular script/running script — known for 《佛遗教经》. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
片 is a slice or sheet, originally half of a split tree-trunk, a 木 cut down the middle. The Shangshu measures land in 片; painters laid ink on 片 of silk. A 片段 of a lost poem survives on bamboo slips, and 叶片 leaf-blades turn in the wind. The char is the thin, flat piece, of wood, of text, of the world cut small enough to be held.
Common words & phrases
- 照片 photo · photograph
- 卡片 card · index card
- 片段 fragment · extract
- 名片 business card · name card
- 叶片 leaf blade · blade
Read the story behind the character
We snap a 照片 photo of the trip, hand over a 名片 business card at the meeting, and flip a 卡片 card on a birthday. A movie shows just one 片段 fragment of the novel, and botany class labels the 叶片 leaf blade. From the phone gallery to the wedding invite, 片 is the flat little piece of everything we keep.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhāng Jízhī 张即之, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.