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黑白分明 (hēi bái fēn míng) — in sharp contrast (of colors, concepts, etc.); clearly distinguishing right from wrong; unambiguous

Definition

A chengyu describing things that are clearly distinct — black vs white, right vs wrong, no ambiguity. Most often used figuratively to praise someone with a clear sense of right and wrong.

idiom
in sharp contrast (of colors, concepts, etc.)clearly distinguishing right from wrongunambiguous

Examples

  • 黑白分明，。
    Tā zuò shì qing hēi bái fēn míng, dà jiā dōu hěn xìn rèn tā.
    He handles things with a clear distinction between right and wrong, so everyone trusts him.
  • 黑白分明，。
    Hēi bái liǎng sè de duì bǐ hēi bái fēn míng, fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
    The contrast between black and white is very sharp; it looks great.
  • 黑白分明，。
    Tā de huí dá hēi bái fēn míng, méi yǒu bàn diǎn yóu yù.
    His answer was clear and unambiguous, without any hesitation.

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.

黑白black and white
黑hēiblack白báiwhite
联合Coordinate
分明clear
分fēndistinguish明míngclear
联合Coordinate

黑 and 白 stand for black and white, while 分 and 明 add distinction and clarity, giving sharp contrast.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

Open 黑 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

分 pairs 八 (to separate) with 刀 (knife), showing something cut apart with a knife.

Open 分 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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