白

bái
HSK 2
#286 most
frequent character
white, snowy, pure, bright, empty
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

It is unclear what 白 first pictured, but early texts use it for 'white.' The same character also stood for '100' and a kind of leader. From 'white' came 'clean,' 'clear,' and 'to understand.'

白 as a component in other characters

meaning10 characters
的皓皖皑皙皎皤皦皒皅
sound15 characters
百怕伯迫拍帕柏泊碧舶魄珀帛粕铂
picture1 character
㣎
empty2 characters
皇泉

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Example Sentences

今天的天空非常白。
jīntiān de tiānkōng fēicháng bái 。
The sky is very white today.
她穿了一件白色的裙子。
tā chuān le yījiàn báisè de qúnzǐ 。
She wore a white dress.
桌子上放着一张白纸。
zhuōzǐ shàng fàng zháo yīzhāng bái zhǐ 。
There is a piece of white paper on the table.

Words with similar meanings

雪白xuěbái
snow white
This term emphasizes a very pure or bright shade of white, often associated with snow.
洁白jiébái
clean white
This term suggests a purity and cleanliness of the white color, often used to describe something unblemished.

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