明白

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 明白 (míngbái) is composed of two characters: 明 (míng) and 白 (bái). The character 明 originally meant "bright" or "clear", and was often used to describe the sun or the moon. Over time, it came to be used more figuratively to mean "understand" or "comprehend". The character 白 originally meant "white", but was also used to mean "clear" or "distinct". When combined, the two characters 明白 literally mean "bright white", which can be interpreted as "clear and understandable". In modern Chinese, 明白 is commonly used as a verb meaning "to understand" or "to be clear", and can also be used as an adjective meaning "clear" or "obvious".