墨

mò

土 + 黑

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

mò (noun) ink; ink stick

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 黑 represents the sound. Originally written as 黑, which depicts a person whose face has been tattooed.

About

墨 is a phonosemantic compound combining 土 (tǔ, 'earth') for its material substance and 黑 (hēi) for both its color and pronunciation. 黑 itself originated as a depiction of a person with a tattooed face. The character evokes the ancient process of making solid inksticks: soot or ash was mixed with a binder, molded into earthy blocks, and later ground with water on an inkstone to yield liquid ink. It denotes both the inkstick and the liquid ink used in calligraphy and painting, and by extension can refer to the works created with it.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这瓶墨水是黑色的。

Zhè píng mòshuǐ shì hēisè de.

This bottle of ink is black.

他买了一个新墨盒。

Tā mǎi le yī gè xīn mòhé.

He bought a new ink cartridge.

夏天我常戴墨镜。

Xiàtiān wǒ cháng dài mòjìng.

In summer, I often wear sunglasses.

书法需要好的墨和纸。

Shūfǎ xūyào hǎo de mò hé zhǐ.

Calligraphy requires good ink and paper.

因为阳光太强，他戴上了墨镜。

Yīnwèi yángguāng tài qiáng, tā dài shàng le mòjìng.

Because the sunlight is too strong, he put on sunglasses.

这幅画用了多种颜色的墨。

Zhè fú huà yòng le duō zhǒng yánsè de mò.

This painting uses ink of multiple colors.

爷爷的墨镜已经用了很多年。

Yéye de mòjìng yǐjīng yòng le hěn duō nián.

Grandpa's sunglasses have been used for many years.

虽然墨水用完了，但他还是用墨笔完成了作品。

Suīrán mòshuǐ yòng wán le, dàn tā háishì yòng mòbǐ wánchéng le zuòpǐn.

Although the ink ran out, he still completed the work with an ink pen.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 土

Component: 黑

墨