Meaning of 白色
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- white
- fig. reactionary
- anti-communist
How to use 白色
白色 is the everyday word for the color white. It often comes before 的 to describe things. Example: 我想买一件白色的衬衫。 (Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yí jiàn báisè de chènshān.) I want to buy a white shirt.
白 (bái) means white, and 色 (sè) means color, the same 色 you see in 颜色 (yánsè). Put them together and you get the color white, just like 红色 (hóngsè) is the color red.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 白 alone when they mean the color as a noun. 白 by itself also means plain, blank, or in vain, as in 白跑一趟 (bái pǎo yí tàng), so use 白色 when you clearly mean the color. Also keep 色 in the fourth tone, sè, not shǎi, which is a colloquial reading of 色.
白色 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
色 sè · color · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 白色.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 颜色 | yánsè | color; countenance |
| 红色 | hóngsè | red (color); revolutionary |
| 黑色 | hēisè | black |
| 蓝色 | lánsè | blue (color) |
| 绿色 | lǜsè | green |
| 黄色 | huángsè | yellow; vulgar; lewd; pornographic |
| 景色 | jǐngsè | scenery; landscape; view |
| 特色 | tèsè | a characteristic; a distinctive feature or quality |
| 彩色 | cǎisè | color; multicolored |
| 白菜 | báicài | Chinese cabbage, esp. napa cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis); sometimes used to re |
Questions about 白色
What does 白色 mean?
白色 (báisè) means "white; fig. reactionary" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 白色?
白色 is made of 2 characters: 白 (5 strokes), 色 (6 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 白色 an HSK word?
Yes. 白色 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 白色 sometimes mean anti-communist?
In political language 红色 (hóngsè) stood for the revolution, and 白色 was used for the opposing side. You will see this sense mostly in historical terms like 白色恐怖 (báisè kǒngbù), white terror.
Can I say 白的 instead of 白色的?
Yes. In casual speech 白的 is very common, for example 我要白的 (Wǒ yào bái de), I want the white one. 白色的 sounds a little more complete and is common when describing items.