一ひと筆ふで書がき

also: いっぴつがき

ひ

と

ふ

で

が

き

Meanings

noun

one-stroke sketch; unicursal drawing

Refers to a drawing made without lifting the pen or brush from the paper, often as a single continuous line. Can also describe a simple, quick sketch.

彼かれは一いっ筆ぴつ書がきで猫ねこの絵えを描かいた。
He drew a picture of a cat in one continuous stroke.
この図ず形けいは一いっ筆ぴつ書がきで書かけますか？
Can this figure be drawn with a single stroke?

See all 4 example sentences ›

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
筆writing brush, writing, painting brush
書write
描sketch, compose, write

Related words

一いっ筆ぴつ
一筆 means 'one stroke' or 'a few lines of writing', while 一筆書き specifically refers to a drawing made in one continuous stroke.
線せん画が
線画 is a general term for line drawing, not necessarily done in one stroke.

Built from

一ひと+筆ふで書がき

Written forms

一筆書き
- ひとふでがき
  Standard kanji spelling; the reading ひとふでがき is the most common.
- いっぴつがき
  Less common reading; ひとふでがき is preferred in modern usage.
一筆描き
- ひとふでがき
  Alternate kanji spelling using 描く (to draw); also valid.
- いっぴつがき
  Rare combination of alternate kanji and less common reading.
いっぴつがき

Etymology

Compound of 一筆 (one stroke) and 書き (writing/drawing), literally 'one-stroke drawing'. The alternate kanji 描き uses the character for 'draw'.