斑白 (bān bái) — grizzled, graying (of hair) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used almost only for hair, meaning streaked with white or gray, usually from age. It is a more literary, written alternative to everyday 头发白了.

adjective

grizzledgraying (of hair)

Examples

斑白，。
Tā tóu fa bān bái, kàn qǐ lái hěn yǒu jīng yàn.
His hair is grizzled, and he looks very experienced.
斑白。
Nà wèi lǎo rén de tóu fa yǐ jīng bān bái le.
That elderly person's hair has already become grizzled.
，斑白。
Tā suī rán nián jì bú dà, dàn tóu fa yǒu xiē bān bái.
Although she is not old, her hair is somewhat graying.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

斑bānmottled

斑 contributes mottled or streaked, and 白 contributes white; together they picture hair that is partly white and partly dark.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

文文wénpattern

Sound part声符shēngfú

班

班bān斑bān

Same sound today

斑 uses 文 to show a pattern and 班 to give its sound.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

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