白 (bái) is a Chinese character meaning “white”. It is written from 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 日 (sun; day), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “white”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
丿 + 日
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿱丿日，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）；非字源解释
Memory aid
A single slanting stroke (丿) sits on top of the sun (日) — like the first ray breaking over it, turning everything white and bright.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 白天bái tiāndaytime; during the day白 = bái
- 白云bái yúnwhite cloud白 = bái
- 坦白tǎn báifrank; candid; to confess openly白 = bái
- 白杨bái yángwhite poplar白 = bái
- 白矾bái fánwhite alum白 = bái
- 苍白cāng báipale; pallid; wan白 = bái
- 乳白rǔ báimilky white; cream-coloured白 = bái
- 洁白jié báipure white; spotless白 = bái
- 白兔bái tùwhite rabbit白 = bái
- 白昼bái zhòudaytime; broad daylight白 = bái
- 白桦bái huàwhite birch白 = bái
- 白蚁bái yǐtermite白 = bái
Go deeper
All readings
white
white; bright; clear; plain, blank; in vain
像雪一样的颜色；明亮的；也表示空的、没有效果的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 白天bái tiāndaytime; during the day白 = bái
- 白云bái yúnwhite cloud白 = bái
- 坦白tǎn báifrank; candid; to confess openly白 = bái
- 白杨bái yángwhite poplar白 = bái
- 白矾bái fánwhite alum白 = bái
- 苍白cāng báipale; pallid; wan白 = bái
- 乳白rǔ báimilky white; cream-coloured白 = bái
- 洁白jié báipure white; spotless白 = bái
- 白兔bái tùwhite rabbit白 = bái
- 白昼bái zhòudaytime; broad daylight白 = bái
- 白桦bái huàwhite birch白 = bái
- 白蚁bái yǐtermite白 = bái
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 白 mean?
白 (bái) means white; bright; clear; plain, blank; in vain.
How do you pronounce 白?
It is pronounced bái.
What parts is 白 made of?
丿 (left-falling stroke) and 日 (sun; day), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿱丿日，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）；非字源解释. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 白 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 白?
白. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 白?
Common ones are 白天 and 白云. The reading of 白 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.