3.1 Arts Vocabulary

The arts

艺术 (yìshù) = art, 画 (huà) = painting / to paint, 音乐 (yīnyuè) = music, 跳舞 (tiàowǔ) = to dance, 书法 (shūfǎ) = calligraphy, 电影 (diànyǐng) = film.

Describing beauty

美 / 美丽 (měi / měilì) = beautiful, 好看 (hǎokàn) = good-looking, 颜色 (yánsè) = color, 红 (hóng) = red, 蓝 (lán) = blue.

Cultural note

书法 (shūfǎ), Chinese calligraphy, is a revered art. Traditional painting (国画 guóhuà) often depicts landscapes (山水 shānshuǐ, literally 'mountains-water').

Key terms

艺术 / 音乐

yìshù / yīnyuè — art / music

画 / 跳舞

huà / tiàowǔ — painting·to paint / to dance

书法

shūfǎ — Chinese calligraphy

美 / 好看

měi / hǎokàn — beautiful / good-looking

山水画

shānshuǐ huà — landscape ('mountain-water') painting

Try an AP-style question

"书法 (shūfǎ)" is…

1. calligraphy
2. painting
3. dance
4. music