鉛筆（えんぴつ、enpitsu）
- pencil

The Japanese word 鉛筆 （えんぴつ） refers to a "pencil". It's a writing tool, typically made of a graphite core encased in a wooden cylinder. This core leaves marks on paper and other surfaces when used for writing, drawing, or sketching.

⚫︎鉛筆で絵を描きます。 Translation: I draw pictures with a pencil. ⚫︎テストで鉛筆を使います。 Translation: I use a pencil for the test. ⚫︎この鉛筆は書きやすいです。 Translation: This pencil is easy to write with.

You use 鉛筆 in situations where you would use a pencil in English. This includes writing, drawing, taking notes, or sketching. It's a very common and versatile word.

鉛筆 is primarily written using the kanji 鉛 (en) meaning "lead" or "plumbum" and 筆 (pitsu) meaning "brush" or "writing instrument." ⚫︎It is also commonly written in hiragana as えんぴつ. ⚫︎There are no variations in okurigana. ⚫︎It's generally not written in katakana.

There aren't direct synonyms for 鉛筆 as it is. However, you could use more general terms like "writing tool" if you wanted to avoid using 鉛筆 specifically.

There is no direct antonym, but you could consider other writing tools as contrast: like "ballpoint pen" ボールペン, "pen" ペン.

宿題を《鉛筆で書きました。》 ・Translation: I wrote my homework with a pencil. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the action of writing homework, specifying the writing tool used.

新しい《鉛筆を買いました。》 ・Translation: I bought a new pencil. ・Explanation: This describes the act of purchasing a new pencil.

The word 鉛筆 comes from the Chinese words 鉛 (qian) and 筆 (bi), which were adopted into Japanese. 鉛 refers to the lead (graphite) used in the pencil's core and 筆 refers to the writing instrument or brush.