How to Write 皑 (ái) — Meaning “Pure white (especially of snow)”

Imagine a mountain (the right part 岂) completely covered in pure white snow, with the left radical 白 (white) reminding you it is all white. Think of the snow as "ái ái"—like saying "eye-eye" while squinting at the blinding white snow.

The left radical 白 is written with a short left-falling stroke, then a vertical, followed by a horizontal fold hook, and finally two horizontal lines inside. The right part 岂 starts with a mountain-like shape: first a vertical fold hook, then a small stroke, then an L-shaped hook at the bottom. Be careful not to make the right side too wide—keep it balanced with the left white radical.

皑 specifically means "pure white snow" and always uses the 白 radical; 皅 is a rare character that looks similar but actually means "pure white" in a different context (not snow) and is almost never used. 皆 means "all" or "every" and has a different pronunciation (jiē) and structure—it combines 白 on top with 比 (compare) below, so it is visually and semantically distinct.

皑 appears almost exclusively in the repeated form 皑皑 to describe vast, glittering white snow scenes, such as in the phrase 白雪皑皑 (báixuě ái'ái, the snow is pure white). It is a poetic and literary word, often used in winter descriptions or classical Chinese writing, and is not common in daily conversation.

Common words containing 皑 include: 皑皑 (ái ái) — Pure white (usually describing snow); 白皑皑 (bái ái ái) — snow-white; 皑白 (ái bái) — Pure white.