| Subject | English | Russian |
| saying. | couldn't tell in a tale or write with a pen | ни в сказке сказать, ни пером описать (Anglophile) |
| math. | write a letter with a pen | писать письмо ручкой |
| gen. | write with a pen | писать пером |
| Makarov. | write with a pen | писать ручкой |
| gen. | write with a pen | писать ручкой (in pencil, with a ball-point pen, with ink, with chalk, etc., и т.д.) |
| gen. | write with a strange fountain-pen | писать чужой авторучкой |