白酒 meaning in English
baijiu, a spirit usually distilled from sorghum; (Tw) white wine (abbr. for 白葡萄酒[bai2 pu2 tao5 jiu3])
Meaning of 白酒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- baijiu, a spirit usually distilled from sorghum
- (Tw) white wine (abbr. for 白葡萄酒[bai2 pu2 tao5 jiu3])
How to use 白酒
白酒 is the strong Chinese grain spirit, often made from sorghum, served in small glasses at banquets and business dinners with toasts. Example: 他在饭桌上喝了三杯白酒。(Tā zài fànzhuō shang hē le sān bēi báijiǔ.) He drank three glasses of baijiu at the dinner table.
白 (bái) means white or clear, and 酒 (jiǔ) means alcohol, so 白酒 is the clear liquor that looks like water in the glass. Picture a small cup of colorless spirit that is much stronger than it looks.
Common mistake: Learners often assume 白酒 means white wine, like 红酒 (hóngjiǔ) means red wine. In mainland China it means strong distilled spirit, and white wine is 白葡萄酒 (bái pútaojiǔ). The Taiwan use of 白酒 for white wine is the exception.
白酒 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
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酒 jiǔ · wine · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 白酒.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 酒店 | jiǔdiàn | wine shop; pub (public house) |
| 白色 | báisè | white; fig. reactionary |
| 啤酒 | píjiǔ | beer (loanword) |
| 红酒 | hóngjiǔ | red wine |
| 白菜 | báicài | Chinese cabbage, esp. napa cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis); sometimes used to re |
| 酒吧 | jiǔbā | bar (place to buy drinks) |
| 酒鬼 | jiǔguǐ | drunkard |
| 葡萄酒 | pútaojiǔ | (grape) wine |
| 白领 | báilǐng | white-collar; white-collar worker |
| 酒水 | jiǔshuǐ | alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (e.g. on a menu) |
Questions about 白酒
What does 白酒 mean?
白酒 (báijiǔ) means "baijiu, a spirit usually distilled from sorghum; (Tw) white wine (abbr. for 白葡萄酒[bai2 pu2 tao5 jiu3])" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 白酒?
白酒 is made of 2 characters: 白 (5 strokes), 酒 (10 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 白酒 an HSK word?
Yes. 白酒 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I order white wine in mainland China without getting baijiu?
Say 白葡萄酒 (bái pútaojiǔ), which literally means white grape wine. If you only say 白酒, you will likely be served a strong grain spirit.
What measure word is used with 白酒?
Use 杯 (bēi) for a glass, as in 一杯白酒 (yì bēi báijiǔ), or 瓶 (píng) for a bottle, as in 一瓶白酒 (yì píng báijiǔ). In general talk about the drink itself, no measure word is needed.