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Definition 2024


明白

明白

Chinese

 
clear; bright; to understand; next; the Ming dynasty
 
white; empty; blank; bright; clear; plain; pure; gratuitous
simp. and trad.
(明白)

Verb

明白

  1. to understand; to know
    明白 [MSC, trad.]
    明白 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒ jiǎng de huà nǐ míngbai le ma? [Pinyin]
    Do you understand what I said?
    什麼心裡明白 [MSC, trad.]
    什么心里明白 [MSC, simp.]
    Nǐ zài xiǎng shénme, wǒ xīnli quán míngbai. [Pinyin]
    I know for sure what you are thinking.

Synonyms

Usage notes

When used as a verb, 明白 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 when reading”) or 看懂 (kàndǒng, “to understand by listening”).

Adjective

明白

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

Synonyms

See also

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

Derived terms

  • 明白人

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (明白):

Japanese

Kanji in this term
めい
Grade: 2
はく
Grade: 1
on'yomi

Adjectival noun

明白 (-na inflection, hiragana めいはく, romaji meihaku)

  1. clear, obvious, plain, positive
    明白 (めいはく)安保理決議違反 (あんぽりけつぎいはん)だ。
    Meihaku na anpori ketsugi ihan da.
    It is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions.

Inflection

Noun

明白 (hiragana めいはく, romaji meihaku)

  1. unmistakableness, unmistakability

References

  • 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, ISBN 4095102535.
  • 2002, Yasuo Kitahara, 明鏡国語辞典 (Meikyō Kokugo Jiten), First Edition (in Japanese), Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, ISBN 4469021067

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this word

Adjective

明白

  1. Hán tự form of minh bạch