白皮书 (bái pí shū) — white paper (official government report or policy document)

Definition

noun
white paper (official government report or policy document)
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 白皮书。
    Zhōng guó zhèng fǔ fā bù le guān yú qì hòu biàn huà de bái pí shū.
    The Chinese government released a white paper on climate change.
  • 白皮书。
    Zhè fèn bái pí shū xiáng xì jiè shào le jiào yù gǎi gé de qíng kuàng.
    This white paper introduces the situation of education reform in detail.
  • 白皮书。
    Tā zhèng zài yán jiū nà fèn guān yú jīng jì fā zhǎn de bái pí shū.
    He is studying that white paper on economic development.

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.

白皮white cover
白báiwhite皮pícover
偏正Modifier + head
书shūbook

From 白, 皮, and 书: a book with a white cover, hence an official report.

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 →

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →

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