白 bái white
white; in vain
How it came to be
Nobody agrees: a thumbnail, a grain of peeled rice, or the first light on the rising sun. All three are a small pale thing with a point on top.
How it is used
- 'White' - 白色 (báisè) the color white, 白天 (báitiān) daytime.
- It also means 'in vain / for nothing': 白跑一趟 (bái pǎo yí tàng) made the trip for nothing, 白等 (bái děng) wait in vain.
- 明白 (míngbai) means 'clear/understand'; 白领 (báilǐng) is white-collar; 白酒 (báijiǔ) is Chinese grain liquor, not wine.
Characters built with 白
Words with 白
- 白天báitiāndaytimeHSK 1
- 白色báisèwhiteHSK 2
- 明白míngbaiclearHSK 3
- 白酒báijiǔbaijiu, a spirit usually distilled from sorghumHSK 4
- 白白báibáiin vainHSK 6
- 白领báilǐngwhite-collarHSK 6
- 蛋白质dànbáizhìproteinHSK 6
- 对白duìbáidialogue (in a movie or a play)HSK 7
- 开场白kāichǎngbáiprologue of playHSK 7
- 空白kòngbáiblank spaceHSK 7
- 表白biǎobáito explain oneselfHSK 7
- 坦白tǎnbáihonestHSK 8
- 惨白cǎnbáideathly paleHSK 8
- 洁白jiébáispotlessly whiteHSK 9
- 苍白cāngbáipaleHSK 9
- 颠倒黑白diāndǎo-hēibáiliterally to invert black and white (idiom)HSK 9
Example sentences
- 雪很白。 Xuě hěn bái.Snow is very white.
- 球场上划有白线。 Qiúchǎng shàng huà yǒu bái xiàn.There are white lines drawn on the field.
- 天上有一朵白云。 Tiānshàng yǒu yì duǒ báiyún.There's one white cloud in the sky.
- 你明白了吗？ Nǐ míngbai le ma?Do you understand?