描绘

• Pinyin: miáo huì
• Hanzi breakdown: 描 = 扌 (hand radical) + 苗 (outline) — to trace; 绘 = 纟 (thread radical) + 会 (gather) — to paint, to render in colour

Meaning

To depict; to portray; to render vividly in words or images. To represent something in a detailed or artistic manner.

More literary and artistic than 描述 (describe). Used for paintings, literary prose, and eloquent speech that vividly captures a scene, character, or emotion. Common in art criticism, literary analysis, and formal writing. Can be used both transitively (描绘景色) and in passive constructions (被生动地描绘).

Examples

1. 这部长篇小说以细腻的笔触描绘了二十世纪初中国南方一个普通家庭在时代变迁中所经历的聚散离合与悲欢岁月。 With delicate, nuanced prose, this novel portrays the separations and reunions, sorrows and joys that an ordinary family in southern China experienced amid the upheavals of the early twentieth century.
2. 画家用浓烈的色彩和粗犷的线条描绘出黄土高原的苍凉与雄浑，令观者在视觉震撼之余也感受到那片土地深沉的历史重量。 Using bold colors and rugged lines, the painter depicts the bleak grandeur of the Loess Plateau, leaving viewers not only visually stunned but also feeling the deep historical weight of that land.
3. 这份调查报告不仅罗列了数据，更通过大量的个案访谈描绘了失业群体在经济困境中真实的心理状态与生存境况。 This investigative report doesn’t just list data; through extensive case interviews, it also portrays the unemployed group’s real psychological state and living conditions amid economic hardship.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, art, journalism, academic writing, film criticism

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 纪录片导演在映后谈中表示，他希望通过真实的影像语言描绘出普通移民工人的日常尊严，而非以煽情化的方式博取观众同情。(The documentary director stated in the post-screening discussion that he hoped to use authentic visual language to depict the everyday dignity of ordinary migrant workers, rather than resorting to sentimentalism to solicit audience sympathy.)
• 唐代诗人擅长以极简的意象描绘边塞的寂寥与将士的思乡之情，这种以少胜多的艺术手法至今仍被文学研究者广泛引用与分析。(Tang dynasty poets excelled at using minimalist imagery to depict the desolation of border regions and soldiers' longing for home; this artistic technique of achieving much with little is still widely cited and analysed by literary scholars today.)

Don't Say

• 将'描绘'与纯粹的信息传递或功能性说明混用 — 描绘强调艺术性、生动性和整体印象的呈现，与侧重精确传达事实的'描述''说明'存在明显语境差异，在学术摘要或技术文档中一般不用'描绘' (Do not conflate 描绘 with purely informational description — 描绘 emphasises artistic vividness and holistic impression, differing from 描述 or 说明 which prioritise factual accuracy; 描绘 is generally not used in academic abstracts or technical documentation)

Origin & History

描 = 扌 (hand radical) + 苗 (seedling/outline) — to trace or outline with a hand; 绘 = 纟 (silk/thread radical) + 会 (gathering) — to draw with threads of colour. Together: to carefully trace and render a scene in detail.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal