白纸 (bái zhǐ) — white paper (blank paper) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'white paper', but often used as a metaphor for a clean slate or blank canvas — someone or something with no history or markings yet.

noun

white paper (blank paper)

Measure word · 张

Examples

白纸。
Wǒ xū yào yì zhāng bái zhǐ lái xiě zì.
I need a piece of white paper to write on.
白纸。
Tā zài bái zhǐ shàng huà le yì duǒ huā.
She drew a flower on the white paper.
，白纸，。
Tā gāng lái gōng sī, jiù xiàng yì zhāng bái zhǐ, shén me dōu yào xué.
He just joined the company, like a blank slate, he has to learn everything.

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 (white) and 纸 (paper) name blank white paper.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紙; 纸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

氏

氏shì紙zhǐ

Same sound today

For 纸, the traditional form 紙 combines 糸 (silk) with 氏 (the sound part).

Appears in

Reading & Writing

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