How to Write 白 (bái) — Meaning “white”

Imagine the character 白 looks like a white sun with a single ray of light coming down from the top (the stroke on top). The shape is like a square with a line on top, reminding you of a bright, white sky during daytime. Think: 'The sun (the top line) makes everything white below.'

The stroke order for 白 is: left vertical, then the top horizontal from left to right, then the inner horizontal, then the right vertical (down and up hook), and finally the bottom horizontal. A common mistake is making the top horizontal too long or forgetting to close the bottom; keep the shape box-like with a small top stroke, and ensure the inner horizontal does not touch the right vertical.

白 has a simple open top and no extra strokes inside, while 百 adds a horizontal stroke on top (一) making it look like 'one white' to mean 'hundred'. 皂 has an extra component: a 'seven' (七) shape below 白, representing soap's white appearance. Visually, 白 is clean and square, 百 has a top line, and 皂 has a bottom curve.

白 is used in common words like 白色 (white color), 白天 (daytime), and 明白 (to understand, literally 'bright white'). Culturally, white in China can symbolize mourning (funerals) but also purity and brightness, as in '白' meaning 'clear' or 'plain' (e.g., 白纸 'blank paper'). It is also the surname Bai.

Common words containing 白 include: 白色 (bái sè) — white color; 白天 (bái tiān) — daytime; 明白 (míng bái) — To understand / Clear.