Meaning of 白
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- white
- in vain
- free of charge
- (bound form) (of facts, the truth, a situation) clear; evident (e.g. 真相大白[zhen1 xiang4 da4 bai2])
- (bound form) plain; without additions (e.g. 白飯|白饭[bai2 fan4])
- (bound form) to explain; to state (e.g. 辯白|辩白[bian4 bai2])
- (bound form) to give a disdainful look (e.g. 白了他一眼[bai2 le5 ta1 yi1 yan3])
- (bound form) vernacular (e.g. 白話|白话[bai2 hua4])
- surname Bai
- Bai ethnic group
How to use 白
白 means white in words like 白色 (báisè) and 白天 (báitiān), but as an adverb it often means "in vain" or "for free". Example: 我白跑了一趟。(Wǒ bái pǎo le yí tàng.) I made the trip for nothing.
白 (bái) looks like 日 (sun) with one extra stroke on top, like a ray of light shooting up. Think of bright sunlight, which is white and makes things clear.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 白 (bái) with 百 (bǎi, hundred), which has an extra horizontal stroke on top, and the tones differ too. Also, 白 is 5 strokes, so do not write it as 日 with a separate dot floating above.
白 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
白 bái · white · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 白.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 白色 | báisè | white; fig. reactionary |
| 白菜 | báicài | Chinese cabbage, esp. napa cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis); sometimes used to re |
| 白酒 | báijiǔ | baijiu, a spirit usually distilled from sorghum; (Tw) white wine (abbr. for 白葡萄酒[bai2 pu2 |
| 白领 | báilǐng | white-collar; white-collar worker |
| 坦白 | tǎnbái | honest; forthcoming |
| 白白 | báibái | in vain; to no purpose |
| 空白 | kòngbái | blank space |
| 表白 | biǎobái | to explain oneself; to express |
| 黑白 | hēibái | black and white; right and wrong |
| 蛋白质 | dànbáizhì | protein |
Questions about 白
What does 白 mean?
白 (bái) means "white; in vain" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 白?
白 is made of 1 character: 白 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 白 an HSK word?
Yes. 白 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 白 before a verb mean "in vain" or "free"?
It depends on context. 白跑 (bái pǎo) means to run around for nothing, while 白吃 (bái chī) can mean to eat for free. If effort was wasted, it is usually "in vain".
Why is 白 in 明白 pronounced without a tone?
In 明白 (míngbai), meaning to understand, the second syllable is usually read in the neutral tone in everyday Mandarin. Elsewhere, such as 白天 (báitiān), it keeps its second tone.