清白

See also: 淸白

Chinese

		clear; distinct; complete clear; distinct; complete; pure	white; empty; blank white; empty; blank; bright; clear; plain; pure; gratuitous
trad. (清白)		清	白
simp. #(清白)		清	白

Pronunciation

Rime
Character	清	白
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	清 (14)	並 (3)
Final (韻)	清 (121)	陌 (113)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	II
Fanqie	七情切	傍陌切
Baxter	tshjeng	baek
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰiᴇŋ/	/bˠæk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰiɛŋ/	/bᵚak̚/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰiæŋ/	/bak̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰiajŋ/	/baɨjk̚/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰiɛŋ/	/bɐk̚/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰĭɛŋ/	/bɐk̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡sʰi̯ɛŋ/	/bʱɐk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qīng	bó
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cing1	bak6

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	清	白
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qīng	bái
Middle Chinese	‹ tshjeng ›	‹ bæk ›
Old Chinese	/*tsʰeŋ/	/*bˁrak/
English	clear (adj.)	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	清	白
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	11338	207
Phonetic component	生	白
Rime group	耕	鐸
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	清	白
Old Chinese	/*sʰleŋ/	/*braːɡ/

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qīngbái

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥ ㄅㄞˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cing¹ baak⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chhîn-pha̍k

  (Hailu, HRS): cin^ˋ pag^ˋ

• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chheng-pia̍k / chheng-pe̍k / chheng-pe̍h

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cêng¹ bêh⁸

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹chin-baq

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qīngbái
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄅㄞˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cingbái
    • Wade–Giles: chʻing¹-pai²
    • Yale: chīng-bái
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chingbair
    • Palladius: цинбай (cinbaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ paɪ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cing¹ baak⁶
    • Yale: chīng baahk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsing¹ baak⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: qing¹ bag⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ paːk̚²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhîn-pha̍k
    • Hakka Romanization System: qin^ˊ pag
    • Hagfa Pinyim: qin¹ pag⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰin²⁴⁻¹¹ pʰak̚⁵/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: cin^ˋ pag^ˋ
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰin⁵³ pʰak²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-pia̍k
    • Tâi-lô: tshing-pia̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhengpiak
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ³³ piak̚²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-pe̍k
    • Tâi-lô: tshing-pi̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhengpek
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ piɪk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² piɪk̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² piɪk̚⁴/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-pe̍h
    • Tâi-lô: tshing-pe̍h
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhengpeh
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ peʔ⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² peʔ⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cêng¹ bêh⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsheng pe̍h
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰeŋ³³⁻²³ peʔ⁴/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹chin-baq
    • MiniDict: chin^平 bah
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹qin-baq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕʰin⁵⁵ baʔ²¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: tshjeng baek

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*tsʰeŋ  bˤrak/

  (Zhengzhang): /*sʰleŋ  braːɡ/

Adjective

清白

1. pure
2. innocent

   你在被無可質疑地證明有罪之前，都是清白的。 [MSC, trad.]
   你在被无可质疑地证明有罪之前，都是清白的。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ zài bèi wúkě zhìyí dì zhèngmíng yǒuzuì zhīqián, dōu shì qīngbái de. [Pinyin]

   You are innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

3. (dialectal) unambiguous

References

• “清白”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
清	白
せい Grade: 4	はく Grade: 1
kan'on

Alternative spelling
淸白 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 清白 (MC tshjeng baek).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) せーはく [sèéhákú] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [se̞ːha̠kɯ̟]

Adjective

清(せい)白(はく) • (seihaku) ^{←せいはく (seifaku)?}-na (adnominal 清(せい)白(はく)な (seihaku na), adverbial 清(せい)白(はく)に (seihaku ni))

1. pure and clean

Inflection

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

Inflection of 清白

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	清白なら	せいはくなら	seifakunara
Continuative (連用形)	清白に[1] 清白なり[2]	せいはくに せいはくなり	seifakuni seifakunari
Terminal (終止形)	清白なり	せいはくなり	seifakunari
Attributive (連体形)	清白なる	せいはくなる	seifakunaru
Realis (已然形)	清白なれ	せいはくなれ	seifakunare
Imperative (命令形)	清白なれ	せいはくなれ	seifakunare
Key constructions
Negative	清白ならず	せいはくならず	seifakunarazu
Contrasting conjunction	清白なれど	せいはくなれど	seifakunaredo
Causal conjunction	清白なれば	せいはくなれば	seifakunareba
Conditional conjunction	清白ならば	せいはくならば	seifakunaraba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	清白なりき	せいはくなりき	seifakunariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	清白なりけり	せいはくなりけり	seifakunarikeri
Adverbial	清白に	せいはくに	seifakuni
[1]Without auxiliary verb. [2]With auxiliary verb.

Classical conjugation of "清白なり" (ナリ活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
清	白
すず Grade: 4	しろ Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
淸白 (kyūjitai)

For pronunciation and definitions of 清白 – see the following entry.

【蘿蔔すずしろ】 [noun] daikon radish (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus, syn. Raphanus sativus)

(This term, 清白, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

References

1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN