中国画表现手法之一。以简练恣纵的笔墨勾勒描绘物象的意态神韵，重在抒发创作主体的意兴情趣。用笔灵活，不拘工细，不求形似（与“工笔”相对）。写意看似草率随意，实则谨严而内蕴法度，不仅要求画家在创作前对物象进行深入的观察和体验，营构好画面中诸多物象的位置关系，而且还须具备精深娴熟的技法功底，才能意居笔先而神出形外。写意有小写意、大写意之分，后者多采用泼墨技法。写意对后来的戏曲创作及表演手法有较大影响，戏曲中的写意，主要通过虚拟性、程式化的动作，并融合一定的歌舞表演来呈现舞台艺术的审美意象。

Freehand brushwork is one of the traditional methods of brushwork expression in Chinese painting. Using abbreviated and willful brushwork, the artist suggests graphically the meaning and character of the object and its shape. The chief aim is to give rein to the artist's subjective state and mood. It stresses flexibility in brushwork, unrestrained by unimportant details and rejecting naturalistic effects (in contrast with meticulous painting). This style of painting, while seemingly coarse and whimsical, is in fact highly conscious of, and strictly consistent with, standards of artistic creation. Besides demanding close observation and experience of natural objects prior to painting, such as that the various forms within the picture will be laid out appropriately, it also demands solid technical proficiency in order that the artistic intent be formed in imagination before taking shape in painting. Freehand brushwork is divided into greater freehand and lesser freehand, with the former often employing the ink-splashing technique. It had a significant influence on the production of operas and the development of acting techniques in later ages. The freehand style in Chinese-style opera is shown through consciously artificial, stylized motions, accompanied by singing and dancing, to present images artistically on the stage.

引例 Citations：

◎（僧仲仁）以墨晕作梅，如花影然，别成一家，所谓写意者也。（夏文彦《图绘宝鉴》卷三）

僧人仲仁通过渲染墨晕来画梅花，仿佛花影一般，这种画法自成一家，称得上是写意高手。

By applying washes without lines, the Buddhist monk Zhongren painted plum blossoms which looked like florid shadows, thus creating a distinctive style of his own. This is what is meant by freehand brushwork! (Xia Wenyan: The Precious Mirror of Painting)

◎世以画蔬果、花草随手点簇者，谓之写意；细笔点染者，谓之写生。（方薰《山静居画论》卷下）

世人将随手点染而画出蔬菜、瓜果、花草的称作“写意”，将用细致工整的笔法描摹实物的称作“写生”。

People describe paintings of vegetables, fruits, plants, and flowers painted according to the artist's whim, with dots here and there, "freehand brushwork," whereas they see paintings in the detailed style as "naturalistic drawings." (Fang Xun: On Painting in the Quiet Mountain Studio)

（推荐：教育部 国家语委 供稿：北京外国语大学 外语教学与研究出版社）