皑皑 (ái ái) — pure white (of snow, frost, or other white expa…

Definition

A literary reduplicated adjective meaning dazzlingly white, used almost exclusively for snow or frost covering a wide expanse. Bound and written: it never stands alone as a predicate, and you will only meet it in descriptive prose.

bound form

pure white (of snow, frost, or other white expanses)

Examples

，。
Shān dǐng shàng bái xuě ái ái, fēi cháng zhuàng guān.
The mountaintop is covered in pure white snow, very spectacular.
皑皑，。
Dōng tiān de tián yě yí piàn ái ái, xiàng pù le yī céng bái tǎn.
The winter fields are a stretch of pure white, like a layer of white blanket.
，皑皑。
Shuāng jiàng zhī hòu, wū dǐng shàng ái ái yí piàn.
After the frost fell, the rooftops were a patch of pure white.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

皑áiwhite

皑 is doubled to intensify its whiteness, as in snow or frost.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 皚; 皑 is its simplified writing.

白豈皚

Meaning part形符xíngfú

白白báiwhite

Sound part声符shēngfú

豈

豈qǐ皚

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

This is about the traditional form 皚, not the simplified 皑. It pairs 白 (white) with 豈, which gives the sound.