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白白

Mandarin · pinyin bái bái

in vain
to no purpose
for nothing
white

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白: bái · white; pure, unblemished; bright

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · bai2 bai2

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

baak6 baak6

Cantonese word readings for 白白. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

adv

in vain; to no purpose; for nothing; unsuccessfully
without compensation; without payment
(Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese Hakka) without any cause or reason; groundless
(Taiwanese Hokkien) helplessly; having no way out

adj

(Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese Hakka) very white

noun

(Sichuanese) egg white

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

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