白

bái

HSK 5

白 — bái

1. white; of the color white

   这件衬衫是白的。 zhèjiàn chènshān shì bái de — This shirt is white.

2. snowy; pure; bright (figurative)

   山顶被白雪覆盖。 shāndǐng bèi báixuě fùgài — The mountain top is covered in white snow.

3. empty; blank; plain; clear (e.g., blank page)

   考试卷还有好几道题是白的。 kǎoshìjuàn háiyǒu hǎojǐdào tí shì bái de — There are still several blank questions on the exam paper.

4. to make clear; to explain; to state

   他把整件事的来龙去脉都说白了，大家终于听明白了。 tā bǎ zhěngjiànshì de láilóngqùmài dōu shuōbáile dàjiā zhōngyú tīng míngbái le — He made the whole course of events clear; everyone finally understood.

5. in vain; gratuitously; free of charge

   他白忙了一天，什么也没弄成。 tā báimáng le yītiān shénme yě méi nòngchéng — He worked hard all day in vain and achieved nothing.

6. reactionary; anti-communist (political label)

   在政治宣传中，有人被污蔑为白分子。 zài zhèngzhìxuānchuán zhōng yǒurén bèi wūmiè wèi bái fènzǐ — In political propaganda, someone was slandered as a reactionary element.

7. funeral; matters relating to funerals

   他家发生白事，亲友赶来吊唁。 tājiā fāshēng báishì qīnyǒu gǎnlái diàoyàn — There was a funeral in his family; relatives and friends came to offer condolences.

8. to stare coldly; to give someone a blank/cold look

   他被老师点名批评，整个教室的人都白了他一眼。 tā bèi lǎoshī diǎnmíng pīpíng zhěnggè jiàoshì de rén dōu bái le tā yīyǎn — He was criticized by the teacher, and everyone in the classroom gave him a cold look.

9. to write the wrong character (to mistake a character)

   他把「谢」字白成了别的字。 tā bǎ xiè zì bái chéng le biéde zì — He mistakenly wrote the character for 'xie' as a different character.

10. vernacular; colloquial speech; spoken lines in opera

    这出戏里有很多白的台词，比较接地气。 zhè chū xì lǐ yǒu hěnduō bái de táicí bǐjiào jiēdì qì — This play has many spoken lines (vernacular), which make it down-to-earth.

11. Bai (surname)

    白先生是我们的老师。 bái xiānshēng shì wǒmen de lǎoshī — Mr. Bai is our teacher.