Chinese word

漂白

Pronunciation

Pinyinpiǎo bái

Meaning

  • verbbleach

Example

这件衬衫能不能漂白？zhè jiàn chèn shān néng bù néng piǎo bái

Can this shirt be bleached?

Illustration for 漂白 (bleach)

More examples

棉质可以漂白，但丝绸不能。mián zhì ké yǐ piǎo bái dàn sī chóu bù néng

Cotton can be bleached, but silk cannot.

Core concept

A whitening treatment lifts unwanted color from a surface, leaving the shade much lighter or white.

Common phrases

  • 漂白毛巾piǎo bái máo jīn

    bleach the towels

  • 漂白袜子piǎo bái wà zi

    bleach the socks

  • 漂白床单piǎo bái chuáng dān

    bleach the sheets

Similar words

洗xǐ: Use water or soap to clean dirt from clothes or other things.
去污qù wū: Get rid of dirt on the outside of an object.
脱色tuō sè: Take color out of a material through chemical treatment.

Definition in Chinese

对衣物、纸张等通过洗涤或化学方式去除颜色或污渍，使颜色变浅或呈现白色的处理。duì yī wù zhǐ zhāng děng tōng guò xǐ dí huò huà xué fāng shì qù chú yán sè huò wū zì shǐ yán sè biàn qiǎn huò chéng xiàn bái sè de chú lǐ

Word origin

漂 (piǎo, "wash away") combines with 白 (bái, "white") to describe removing color until a material reaches a white or nearly white state.

Usage tips

  • English can use bleach for either the action or the whitening product, but this Chinese verb describes what is done to a material rather than naming the product.

Other meanings

  • remove colorverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 漂白剂piǎo bái jìbleaching agentnoun

Word lists with this word