漂白 (piǎo bái) — to bleach; (figurative) to whitewash, to cover… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'to bleach' (fabric, paper, hair). Used figuratively to mean 'whitewash' — covering up scandals or crimes with a clean public image.

verb

to bleach(figurative) to whitewashto cover up (scandals, crimes, etc.)

Examples

漂白。
Gōng chǎng yòng huà xué yào pǐn piǎo bái bù liào.
The factory bleaches fabric with chemicals.
漂白。
Zhèng fǔ bèi zhǐ kòng piǎo bái fǔ bài chǒu wén.
The government was accused of whitewashing the corruption scandal.
漂白。
Zhè zhǒng xǐ yī yè néng yǒu xiào piǎo bái yī fu.
This laundry detergent can effectively bleach clothes.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

漂 means to bleach, and 白 gives the whiteness that results, so the action makes something white.

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.

氵票漂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

票

票piào漂piǎo

Same sound today

漂 pairs 氵 (water) with 票, which gives 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.

Appears in

Cleaning & Chores

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