TraceHanzi

皚 meaning and stroke order

ái

Brilliant white; as white as snow

15 strokesRadical 白Simplified 皑
Strokes15
Pinyinái
ToneTone 2
Frequency#5,458
Printable worksheet

How to write 皚, stroke by stroke

15 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.

  1. 1
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  8. 8
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Meaning of 皚

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

áisecond tone (rising)
  1. (literary) white as snow

How 皚 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. White.

báiwhite+qǐwhat

白 gives the meaning and 豈 hints at the sound.

Radical: 白 (white), shared by 21 characters on this site.

How to remember 皚

The left part 白 (bái) means white, so the character is about whiteness. The right part 豈 (qǐ) gives the sound, and together they picture a dazzling white like fresh snow.

皚 is literary and rarely appears alone. It is almost always doubled as 皚皚 (ái ái) to describe snow, frost, or white hair, as in 白雪皚皚 (bái xuě ái ái), a vast expanse of white snow.

Common mistake: Learners often read it as qǐ because of the phonetic part 豈. The correct reading is ái with a second tone. Do not confuse it with 凱 (kǎi, triumphant), which shares the same right-hand part.

Questions about 皚

How many strokes are in 皚?

皚 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 皚 mean?

皚 (ái) means brilliant white; as white as snow.

How do you pronounce 皚?

皚 is pronounced ái, in the second tone (rising).

What is the radical of 皚?

The radical of 皚 is 白, which carries the idea of "white". Dictionaries list 皚 under this radical.

What is the simplified form of 皚?

皚 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 皑, used in mainland China and Singapore.

Is 皚 used in everyday spoken Chinese?

Not really. It mostly appears in written descriptions, poetry, and set phrases like 白雪皚皚. In casual speech people simply say 很白 (hěn bái) or 雪白 (xuě bái).

How is 皚 written in simplified Chinese?

In simplified Chinese it is written 皑, with the right part simplified from 豈 to 岂. The meaning and the pronunciation ái stay the same.