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黑白 (hēi bái) — black and white (color); right and wrong; good and bad (figurative)

Definition

Literally 'black and white' (the colors, no greys), but figuratively means 'right and wrong' or 'good and bad' — as in 颠倒黑白 ('to invert right and wrong').

noun
black and white (color)right and wronggood and bad (figurative)

Examples

  • 黑白，。
    Zhè zhāng zhào piàn shì hēi bái de, kàn qǐ lái hěn yǒu nián dài gǎn.
    This photo is black-and-white, it looks very nostalgic.
  • 黑白，。
    Zuò rén yào fēn de qīng hēi bái, bù néng wèi le lì yì diān dǎo duì cuò.
    One must distinguish right from wrong; you can't twist right and wrong for personal gain.
  • ，。
    Tā zǒng xǐ huan diān dǎo hēi bái, bǎ huài shì shuō chéng hǎo shì.
    He always likes to reverse black and white, calling bad things good.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

黑hēiblack
白báiwhite

黑 and 白 stand side by side for black and white, extended to right and wrong.

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 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsColors

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