Rubber isn’t hard: it changes shape under pressure.
Sentence #1565680 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 橡皮 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
橡xiàngoak
木tree · mùMeaning part
象elephant · xiàngSound part
木 hints at the meaning (tree); 象 (xiàng) hints at the sound. Compare it with xiàng.
皮pískin; peel; rind; outer layer
皮 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
How to write 橡皮
橡 15 strokes · 皮 5 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 橡皮 (xiàngpí). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
Say it xiàngpí: xiàng with a 4th tone, then pí with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 橡皮 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 块 (kuài). For example, one rubber is 一块橡皮 (yí kuài xiàngpí).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xiangpi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 橡皮 from the suggestions. Typing xiangpi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
橡皮 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
橡xiàng4th tone, falling
皮pí2nd tone, rising
