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自白 (zì bái) — (verb) to confess; to explain oneself; (noun) confession

Definition

verb
to confessto explain oneself
noun
confession

Examples

  • 自白。
    Tā zuì zhōng zài fǎ tíng shàng zì bái le.
    He finally confessed in court.
  • 自白。
    Qǐng gěi wǒ yí gè zì bái de jī huì.
    Please give me a chance to explain myself.
  • 自白。
    Zhè fèn zì bái shì tā qīn shǒu xiě de.
    This confession was written by his own hand.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

自zìoneself
白báiconfess

自 means oneself and 白 means confess, so together they mean to confess oneself.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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 →
Appears in
Communication & SpeechLaw & Justice

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