明白

明白

Chinese

		clear; bright; to understand clear; bright; to understand; next; the Ming dynasty	white; empty; blank white; empty; blank; bright; clear; plain; pure; gratuitous
simp. and trad. (明白)		明	白
Literally: “clear and clean”.

Etymology

Attested in Zhuangzi ("clear and clean"), Chu Ci ("bright and clean"), Mozi ("to be evident, clear"), Tao Te Ching ("to know, to understand").

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): míngbai, míngbái

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄧㄥˊ ˙ㄅㄞ, ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄅㄞˊ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): минбый (minbɨy, I-II)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ming⁴ baak⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): mìn-pha̍k
• Min Dong (BUC): mìng-bĕk
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): bêng-pe̍k / bêng-pia̍k / bêng-pe̍h / mêng-pe̍k

  (Teochew, Peng'im): mêng⁵ bêh⁸

• Wu (Wiktionary): min baq (T3)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland, variant in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: míngbai
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄧㄥˊ ˙ㄅㄞ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: míngbåi
    • Wade–Giles: ming²-pai⁵
    • Yale: míng-bai
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ming.bai
    • Palladius: минбай (minbaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ³⁵ b̥aɪ̯³/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: míngbái
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄅㄞˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: míngbái
    • Wade–Giles: ming²-pai²
    • Yale: míng-bái
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mingbair
    • Palladius: минбай (minbaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ³⁵ paɪ̯³⁵/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: минбый (minbɨy, I-II)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ²⁴ pei⁵¹/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: ming⁴ baak⁶
    • Yale: mìhng baahk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ming⁴ baak⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ming⁴ bag⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɪŋ²¹ paːk̚²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mìn-pha̍k
    • Hakka Romanization System: minˇ pag
    • Hagfa Pinyim: min² pag⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /min¹¹ pʰak̚⁵/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: mìng-bĕk
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ⁵³⁻³³ ^(p-)mɛiʔ⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bêng-pe̍k
    • Tâi-lô: bîng-pi̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bengpek
    • IPA (Xiamen): /biɪŋ²⁴⁻²² piɪk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /biɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ piɪk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /biɪŋ¹³⁻²² piɪk̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /biɪŋ²³⁻³³ piɪk̚⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bêng-pia̍k
    • Tâi-lô: bîng-pia̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bengpiak
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines): /biɪŋ²⁴⁻²² piak̚²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bêng-pe̍h
    • Tâi-lô: bîng-pe̍h
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bengpeh
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /biɪŋ²³⁻³³ peʔ⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /biɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ peʔ⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: mêng-pe̍k
    • Tâi-lô: mîng-pi̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: mengpek
    • IPA (Singapore): /meŋ²⁴⁻²¹ pek̚⁴³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: mêng⁵ bêh⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: mêng pe̍h
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /meŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ peʔ⁴/
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: min baq (T3)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɪɲ²² b̥a̱ʔ⁴⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: /mˠiæŋ  bˠæk̚/

Rime
Character	明	白
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)	並 (3)
Final (韻)	庚 (111)	庚 (113)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	II
Fanqie	武兵切	傍陌切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/mˠiæŋ/	/bˠæk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/mᵚiaŋ/	/bᵚak̚/
Shao Rongfen	/miaŋ/	/bak̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/miajŋ/	/baɨjk̚/
Li Rong	/miɐŋ/	/bɐk̚/
Wang Li	/mĭɐŋ/	/bɐk̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/mi̯ɐŋ/	/bʱɐk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	míng	bó
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ming4	bak6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*mraŋ  bˤrak/

  (Zhengzhang): /*mraŋ  braːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	明	白
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	míng	bái
Middle Chinese	‹ mjæng ›	‹ bæk ›
Old Chinese	/*mraŋ/	/*bˁrak/
English	bright	white
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	明	白
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	9188	207
Phonetic component	明	白
Rime group	陽	鐸
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	明	白
Old Chinese	/*mraŋ/	/*braːɡ/

Verb

明白

1. to understand; to know

   我講的話你明白了嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
   我讲的话你明白了吗？ [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ jiǎng de huà nǐ míngbai le ma? [Pinyin]

   Do you understand what I said?

   你在想什麼，我心裡全明白。 [MSC, trad.]
   你在想什么，我心里全明白。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ zài xiǎng shénme, wǒ xīnli quán míngbai. [Pinyin]

   I know for sure what you are thinking.

Usage notes

When used as a verb, 明白 (míngbai) conveys an understanding of a meaning or a situation. To express an ability to understand a language, see 會說／会说 (huìshuō, “to be able to speak”), 聽懂／听懂 (tīngdǒng, “to understand by listening”) or 看懂 (kàndǒng, “to understand when reading”).

Synonyms

edit

Synonyms of 明白

了解 (liǎojiě) 悟 (wù) (literary, or in compounds) 懂 (dǒng) 懂得 (dǒngde) 打生 (Wenzhounese) 把握 (bǎwò) 掌握 (zhǎngwò) 明 (míng) (Cantonese) 洞悉 (dòngxī) 清亮 (qīngliàng) (mainland China) 清楚 (qīngchu) 熟似 (Min Nan) 熟悉 (shúxī) 熟稔 (shúrěn) (literary) 理解 (lǐjiě) 知影 (Min Nan) 知悉 (zhīxī) (literary) 知道 (zhīdao) 通解 (tōngjiě) (literary) 醒悟 (xǐngwù) 佔有／占有 (zhànyǒu) 分曉／分晓 (fēnxiǎo) 參悟／参悟 (cānwù)

明瞭／明了 (míngliǎo) 曉得／晓得 (xiǎode) 會悟／会悟 (huìwù) (literary) 熟識／熟识 (shúshí) 理會／理会 (lǐhuì) 瞭悟／了悟 (liǎowù) (literary) 瞭然／了然 (liǎorán) 知曉／知晓 (zhīxiǎo) 知識／知识 (zhīshí) (literary) 覺悟／觉悟 (juéwù) 覺醒／觉醒 (juéxǐng) 認識／认识 (rènshi) 諳曉／谙晓 (ānxiǎo) (literary) 諳達／谙达 (āndá) (literary) 貫通／贯通 (guàntōng) 通曉／通晓 (tōngxiǎo) 通達／通达 (tōngdá) 達／达 (dá) (literary, or in compounds) 開悟／开悟 (kāiwù) (literary) 領悟／领悟 (lǐngwù) 領會／领会 (lǐnghuì) 領略／领略 (lǐnglüè)

Adjective

明白

1. clear; obvious; evident
2. open; explicit; frank
3. sensible; reasonable

Synonyms

• (clear):

edit

分明 (fēnmíng) 清晰 (qīngxī) 清朗 (qīnglǎng) 清楚 (qīngchu) 疏朗 (shūlǎng) (literary)

分曉／分晓 (fēnxiǎo) 明瞭／明了 (míngliǎo) 明確／明确 (míngquè) 鮮明／鲜明 (xiānmíng)

• (explicit):

edit

分明 (fēnmíng) 清晰 (qīngxī) 清朗 (qīnglǎng) 清楚 (qīngchu) 疏朗 (shūlǎng) (literary)

分曉／分晓 (fēnxiǎo) 明瞭／明了 (míngliǎo) 明確／明确 (míngquè) 鮮明／鲜明 (xiānmíng)

• (sensible): 通情達理／通情达理 (tōngqíngdálǐ)

See also

• (not to be confused with) 明日 (míngrì)

Derived terms

明白人 (míngbairén)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (明白):

• → Japanese: 明白(めいはく) (meihaku)
• → Korean: 명백(明白) (myeongbaek)
• → Vietnamese: minh bạch (明白)

• → White Hmong: meejpem

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
明	白
めい Grade: 2	はく Grade: 1
on’yomi

Adjective

明(めい)白(はく) • (meihaku) -na (adnominal 明(めい)白(はく)な (meihaku na), adverbial 明(めい)白(はく)に (meihaku ni))

1. clear, obvious, plain, undeniable

   明白(めいはく)な安(あん)保(ぽ)理(り)決(けつ)議(ぎ)違(い)反(はん)だ。

   Meihaku na anporiketsugiihan da.

   It is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions.

Inflection

Inflection of 明白

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	明白だろ	めいはくだろ	meihaku daro
Continuative (連用形)	明白で	めいはくで	meihaku de
Terminal (終止形)	明白だ	めいはくだ	meihaku da
Attributive (連体形)	明白な	めいはくな	meihaku na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	明白なら	めいはくなら	meihaku nara
Imperative (命令形)	明白であれ	めいはくであれ	meihaku de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	明白ではない 明白じゃない	めいはくではない めいはくじゃない	meihaku de wa nai meihaku ja nai
Informal past	明白だった	めいはくだった	meihaku datta
Informal negative past	明白ではなかった 明白じゃなかった	めいはくではなかった めいはくじゃなかった	meihaku de wa nakatta meihaku ja nakatta
Formal	明白です	めいはくです	meihaku desu
Formal negative	明白ではありません 明白じゃありません	めいはくではありません めいはくじゃありません	meihaku de wa arimasen meihaku ja arimasen
Formal past	明白でした	めいはくでした	meihaku deshita
Formal negative past	明白ではありませんでした 明白じゃありませんでした	めいはくではありませんでした めいはくじゃありませんでした	meihaku de wa arimasen deshita meihaku ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	明白で	めいはくで	meihaku de
Conditional	明白なら（ば）	めいはくなら（ば）	meihaku nara (ba)
Provisional	明白だったら	めいはくだったら	meihaku dattara
Volitional	明白だろう	めいはくだろう	meihaku darō
Adverbial	明白に	めいはくに	meihaku ni
Degree	明白さ	めいはくさ	meihakusa

Noun

明(めい)白(はく) • (meihaku) 

1. obviousness, undeniability

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
• 2002, Yasuo Kitahara, 明鏡国語辞典 (Meikyō Kokugo Jiten), First Edition (in Japanese), Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, →ISBN

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Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
明	白

Adjective

明白

1. chữ Hán form of minh bạch.