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白旗 (bái qí) — white flag (symbol of surrender or truce); (in PRC political discourse) a backward or underperforming unit; an ideological 'white flag' label

Definition

Literally 'white flag,' used in war or conflict to signal surrender or truce. In PRC political discourse, calling a unit '白旗' labels it as ideologically backward — a figurative sense you may meet in historical texts.

noun
white flag (symbol of surrender or truce)(in PRC political discourse) a backward or underperforming unitan ideological 'white flag' label
Measure word · 面

Examples

  • 白旗，。
    Dí rén jǔ qǐ le bái qí, biǎo shì tóu xiáng.
    The enemy raised a white flag, indicating surrender.
  • ，白旗。
    Zài nà ge nián dài, tā men dān wèi bèi tiē shàng le bái qí biāo qiān.
    In that era, their unit was labeled as a 'white flag' (backward unit).
  • 白旗。
    Zhàn chǎng shàng chū xiàn bái qí yì wèi zhe tíng huǒ.
    The appearance of a white flag on the battlefield means a ceasefire.

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báiwhite
旗qíflag

白 gives the color and 旗 the banner, together naming a white flag.

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.

Open 白 →

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
㫃㫃㫃flag
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí旗qí
Same sound today

旗 pairs 㫃, a flag, with 其, which gives the pronunciation qí.

Open 旗 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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