Stationery in Chinese - What's Inside your Pencil Case?

Stationery in Chinese – What’s Inside your Pencil Case?

Stationery in Chinese

Coming to China to study? Or perhaps to start working at a Chinese company?

Either way you’re going to need to learn how to talk about basic stationery in Chinese. Luckily we’ve got a list prepared for you to get you started!

Essential Vocabulary: how do you say stationery in Chinese?  

Learn all the Stationary in Chinese

文具 wénjù = “writing materials/tools” or stationery

Pen in Chinese

Pencil in Chinese

Fountain Pen in Chinese

Ball Point Pen in Chinese

School Bag in Chinese

Calculator in Chinese

Eraser in Chinese

Pencil Sharpener in Chinese

Scissors in Chinese

Sticky Tape in Chinese

Paper Clip in Chinese

Stapler in Chinese

Book in Chinese

Notebook in Chinese

Ruler in Chinese

Measuring Tape in Chinese

⬇️⬇️⬇️ Stationery QUIZ ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Pen in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters:
  • Pinyin:
  • Meaning: This one is simple: “pen”. But it’s used in a lot of Chinese words for different stationery items.

Pencil in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 铅笔
  • Pinyin: qiānbǐ
  • Meaning: 铅 means “lead” and 笔 as you know means pen, so all together thats “lead pen”.

Fountain Pen in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 钢笔
  • Pinyin: gāngbǐ
  • Meaning: This literally means “steel pen”. Sometimes it’s used to refer to just a regular, nice pen.

Ball Point Pen in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 原子笔
  • Pinyin: yuánzǐbǐ
  • Meaning: Sometimes it’s also called a 圆珠笔 (yuánzhūbǐ) which literally means “round pearl pen”, 原子 was probably chosen as it sounds similar.

School Bag in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 书包
  • Pinyin: shūbāo
  • Meaning: This one is simple, it means “book bag”, so it’s not just for school kids.

Calculator in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 计算器
  • Pinyin: jìsuànqì
  • Meaning: Another very literal translation into English “calculating machine”.
Stationery in Chinese

Eraser in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 橡皮
  • Pinyin: xiàngpí
  • Meaning: “Rubber/ Rubber Tree Skin”… makes sense.

Pencil Sharpener in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 转笔刀
  • Pinyin: zhuànbǐdāo
  • Meaning: “turn pen knife” another very logical one.

Scissors in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 剪刀
  • Pinyin: jiǎndāo
  • Meaning: 剪 on it’s own means “scissors” or also the verb “to cut”, 刀 is “knife”… So altogether that’s: “scissors knife” or “cut knife”.

Sticky Tape in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 胶带
  • Pinyin: jiāodài
  • Meaning: 胶 means glue and 带 means “belt/tape”, so: “glue tape”

Paperclip in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters:曲别针
  • Pinyin: qūbiézhēn
  • Meaning: “Paper clip”

Stapler in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 订书机
  • Pinyin: dìngshūjī
  • Meaning: “staple document machine”

Note: a staple is a 订书针 dìngshūzhēn – a “staple document needle”

Stationery in Chinese

Book in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters:
  • Pinyin: shū
  • Meaning: Book

Notebook in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 笔记本
  • Pinyin: bǐjìběn
  • Meaning: “Pen record book” 

Note: Sometimes a notebook is just referred to as a “本子”。 

Ruler in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 尺子
  • Pinyin: chǐzi
  • Meaning: “rule/ruler”

Measuring Tape in Chinese

  • Chinese Characters: 卷尺
  • Pinyin: juǎnchǐ
  • Meaning: “roll ruler”

尺 chǐ is also a Chinese traditional unit of length equivalent to 0.333m or 1.094 ft

Stationery Quiz

Welcome to the Stationery Quiz! Enter your First name and email to begin. Don't worry you can unsubscribe at any time!

First Name
Email
订书机 (dìngshūjī)

Eraser

计算器 (jìsuàn qì)

Book

Paperclip

卷尺 (juǎnchǐ)

Scissors

铅笔 (qiānbǐ)

Ruler

胶带 (jiāodài)

Measurements in Chinese

While we’re on the topic, let’s quickly run through how measurements work in Chinese.

Although China follows the metric system when it comes to weights, it also has its own system of traditional measurements.

Here are some of the more common traditional measurements and weights you might see around.

Traditional Chinese Measurements

CharacterPinyinMetric System Equivalent
500 m
cùn​3 13 cm
chǐ33 13 cm
jīn500 g
liǎng50 g

These units of measurements along with many more have varied in the length/weight they represent throughout Chinese history, but they were standardised in the 1930s and 1950s. 

75 Useful Academic Vocabulary 🎓 Let's Go back to School in Chinese Thumbnail

75 Useful Academic Vocabulary 🎓 Let’s Go back to School in Chinese

Thinking of coming to learn Chinese? Good! As a present, we are getting you ahead of the rest with our hugely useful set of Chinese school vocabulary.

Where to Buy Stationery in China?

Luckily for us stationery fans, or for those of you who just need to get some study equipment during your time in China, both cute and practical stationery is pretty affordable in China.

Here are some top tips of where you can find what you need:

  • #1 Miniso – An all purpose Japanese-style mini-mart, the Chinese chain store Miniso can be found all across China (as well as outside of China too). It sells everything from cosmetics and electronics to kitchenware and you guessed it stationary! Miniso is a good bet to find a cute pen or notepad in any colour.
  • #2 Nome – “Made in China, Designed in Sweden” – Nome is another chain store spreading across China. Similar to Miniso, it stocks a range of bargains in the cosmetics, appliances and household items areas with the addition of clothing! But you’re here for stationery remember and nome won’t disappoint – pens, notebooks, sticky notes… all in lovely designs.
  • #3 Small Stationary Stores/ Market Stalls – If you’re looking for a wider range of stationery or perhaps something a bit more Chinese-style, with some nice Chinglish on the front then you’re never far from a stationery store in China. The best places to look tend to be around universities and schools in whichever city you’re in. There are usually a couple of stationery stores nearby so that students can stock up on supplies on a budget.

And if you at first you don’t succeed, well there’s always Taobao (now that you know the Chinese names for what you need)!

Happy Stationery Hunting!


Stationary in Chinese – FAQ’s

How do you say Pen in Chinese ?

Pen in Chinese is 笔 (Pinyin: bǐ)

How do you say Pencil in Chinese ?

Pencil in Chinese is 铅笔 (Pinyin: qiānbǐ)

How do you say Book in Chinese ?

Book in Chinese is 书 (Pinyin: shū)

How do you say Notebook in Chinese ?

Notebook in Chinese is 笔记本 (Pinyin: bǐjìběn)

Want more from LTL?

If you wish to hear more from LTL Mandarin School why not join our mailing list. We give plenty of handy information on learning Chinese, useful apps to learn the language and everything going on at our LTL schools! Sign up below and become part of our ever growing community!

4 comments

Leave a Reply

You will get a reply from us
Your email address will not be published. Name and Email are required.

  1. Useful for english teachers in China!

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      We very much hope so Tran!

  2. Walter
    Reply

    great idea for a post!

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      😃