撇

• Pinyin: piě
• Hanzi breakdown: 撇 = 扌 (hand) + 敝 (worn out/discarded — phonetic; suggests brushing away)

Meaning

To skim off (foam or fat); to throw aside; to set aside or disregard. Also, the left-falling stroke (丿) in Chinese calligraphy, one of the eight basic strokes.

撇开 means to set aside or leave out of consideration. In cooking, 撇去浮沫 means to skim off foam. In calligraphy, the 撇 stroke descends diagonally to the lower left. The verb can also mean to toss something aside carelessly or dismissively.

Examples

1. 厨师将高汤中浮起的杂质和多余油脂仔细地撇去，使汤底更加清澈醇厚，入口纯净无杂味。 The chef carefully skimmed off the impurities and excess fat floating on the stock, leaving the broth clearer and richer, with a clean taste and no off flavors.
2. 暂且撇开政治因素不谈，单从经济角度分析，这项合作协议对双方均具有相当可观的长期收益。 Setting political factors aside for the moment, from an economic perspective this cooperation agreement offers both sides substantial long-term returns.
3. 练习书法时，撇这一笔须起笔重、收笔轻，力道由腕部贯穿笔尖，方能写出自然舒展的弧度。 When practicing calligraphy, the left-falling stroke should start heavy and finish light, with the force traveling from the wrist through the tip of the brush to create a natural, relaxed curve.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, writing, discussion

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在炖煮骨汤的前二十分钟，需要持续撇去表面浮沫，这一步骤对于最终成品的清澈度和纯净口感至关重要，不可省略。(During the first twenty minutes of simmering bone broth, one must continuously skim off the foam that rises to the surface — this step is critical for the final product's clarity and clean flavour and must not be skipped.)
• 撇开个人情感因素，纯粹从专业标准来评估这份申请材料，委员会认为候选人的综合实力确实达到了录取门槛。(Setting aside personal emotional factors and evaluating this application purely on professional standards, the committee concluded that the candidate's overall capabilities did indeed meet the admission threshold.)

Don't Say

• 撇 in calligraphy is specifically the left-falling stroke — do not confuse it with 捺 (the right-falling stroke) when teaching or discussing Chinese brushwork

Origin & History

扌 (hand radical) + 敝 (worn out/cast aside — phonetic) — to brush or flick something aside with the hand

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal