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苍白 (cāng bái) — pale, wan (of complexion); (figurative) feeble, weak (of arguments, writings, etc.)

Definition

Used for a sickly or deathly pale complexion (脸色苍白), and figuratively for arguments or writing that look weak and unconvincing. Stronger and more literary than 惨白 (deathly pale) for faces.

adjective
palewan (of complexion)(figurative) feebleweak (of arguments, writings, etc.)

Examples

  • ，苍白。
    Tā shēng bìng le, liǎn sè fēi cháng cāng bái.
    He is sick, and his complexion is very pale.
  • 苍白，。
    Tā de jiě shì hěn cāng bái, méi rén xiāng xìn.
    His explanation was feeble; no one believed it.
  • 苍白。
    Yuè guāng xià de nà piàn tǔ dì xiǎn de cāng bái ér jì jìng.
    The land under the moonlight appeared pale and silent.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

苍cāngpale
白báiwhite

苍 and 白 both suggest a pale color, together describing a pale face or feeble wording.

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 蒼; 苍 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng蒼cāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 蒼 pairs 艸 (grass) with 倉 as a sound part. The simplified 苍 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 苍 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6AppearanceColors

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