白堊紀

简 白垩纪 · 繁 白堊紀
Mandarin · pinyin Bái è jì

Meanings

  1. Cretaceous (geological period 140-65m years ago)
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Characters in this entry

白
bái · white; pure, unblemished; bright
堊
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紀
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垩
è · holy, sacred, sage; simplification of 堊 chalk; daub with chalk
纪
jì · record, annal, historical account
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4 · Bai2 e4 ji4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

name

  1. (geology) the Cretaceous period (part of the Mesozoic era, spanning from 145.0 to 66.0 million years ago)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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