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Kanji Detail for 白 - "white, to whiten"

白

  • Meaning

    白 means "white, to whiten." Also associated with bright.

    1. White - The color white.

    2. To whiten - To polish; to brighten; to become light.

    3. Bright - Clear; obvious; distinct.

    4. To speak - To tell; to state; to report.

    5. Empty - Void; nothing; blank.

    6. Script - Lines in a play or drama.

    7. Belgium - An abbreviation for "Belgium."

  • Words using 白

    • 白人 はくじん Listen white person; Caucasian
    • 白書 はくしょ Listen white paper (government report)
    • 空白 くうはく Listen blank space (in a document); blank; void
    • 白紙 はくし Listen white paper; flyleaf; blank paper
    • 明白 めいはく Listen obvious; clear; plain
    • 白血病 はっけつびょう Listen leukemia; leukaemia
    • 自白 じはく Listen confession; admission
    • 面白 おもしろ Listen amusing; funny; interesting

  • Four-character idioms with 白

    • 事理明白 じりめいはく Listen facts being beyond dispute; logic being indisputable
    • 二河白道 にがびゃくどう Listen the road to paradise is a white road between two rivers, one of water (wrath) and one of fire (greed)
    • 亭主関白 ていしゅかんぱく Listen domineering husband; hectoring husband; husband who rules the roost
    • 堅白同異 けんぱくどうい Listen sophism; sophistry; quibbling
    • 清廉潔白 せいれんけっぱく Listen spotless integrity; absolute honesty; uprightness
    • 清浄潔白 せいじょうけっぱく Listen upright and clean-handed; pure in heart and with a clean conscience

  • Origin of 白

    A pictograph whose model is debated — the first light of dawn breaking, or a grain of rice; either way, the plainest brightness the ancients could point to.

    How to remember it: Dawn's first pale light — or a single rice grain — whichever you see, it is white.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 白

    • Verified meaning: white, to whiten
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あきら, きよし, しら, しらい)
    • Also carries these associations: bright

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 白

    Given names 白(あきら)Listen 白(きよし)Listen 白(しろし)Listen

    Surnames 白(しら)Listen 白(しらい)Listen 白(しらさき)Listen 白(しらざき)Listen 白(しらはま)Listen 白(しらやぎ)Listen 白(しらやなぎ)Listen 白(しろつる)Listen 白(しろやなぎ)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    white

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    white; pure, unblemished; bright

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Bai

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    white; clear, pure, unblemished; bright

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Plain color. When an object receives all seven colors of sunlight and fully reflects them, it appears white. | Clean. Such as 清白 (pure). | Bright. Such as calling dawn 東方既白 (the east is already white). | When a matter is clarified is called 白. Such as saying 其冤乃白 (his grievance was finally cleared). | To inform. A subordinate informing a superior is called 稟白. Peers stating matters and presenting arguments is also called 白. | A wine vessel. Such as saying 浮一大白 (drink a large cup). | Has the meaning of having nothing. Such as a test paper with no writing is called 白卷 (blank paper). | Has the meaning of plain and simple. Such as 白語 (plain speech), 說白 (spoken dialogue).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    byaku(ビャク) ビャク

    haku(ハク) ハク

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    shira(しら) しら

    shiro(しろ) しろ

    shiro.i(しろ-い) しろ-い

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    白 (shiro・shirohen)

  • Related Keywords

    white to whiten bright belgium empty script blank brilliant clean clear colorless elegant frost gleaming glowing ice innocence light lustrous pale plain pristine purity simple snow transparent

Sentences including 白

  • If you're doing it in fun , i'd rather you didn't come.

  • I found her very amusing.

  • She is good at making up interesting stories.

  • The story was amusing.

  • The french flag is blue , white and red.

  • Her hair became gray with the years.

  • Please paint the door white.

  • This is the funniest book in my reading.

  • My dogs are white.

  • The story got more and more interesting.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 白 (shiro・shirohen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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