白布 (bái bù) — plain white cloth (often unbleached) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

plain white cloth (often unbleached)

Measure word · 块

Examples

白布。
Wǒ mǎi le yí kuài bái bù zuò chuāng lián.
I bought a piece of white cloth to make curtains.
白布。
Zhè jiàn yī fu shì yòng bái bù zuò de.
This piece of clothing is made of white cloth.
白布。
Nǎi nai xǐ huan yòng bái bù shǒu pà.
Grandma likes to use white cloth handkerchiefs.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

白 describes the color, and 布 names the cloth.

Characters in this word

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.

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

巾巾jīnkerchief

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

父fù布bù

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

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