漂发剂
piāo fà jì
Hair bleach in Chinese is 漂发剂 (piāo fà jì).
漂发剂 refers specifically to the chemical product used to lighten the natural color of hair. If you want to describe the action of bleaching one's hair, you should use the verb-object construction 漂发 (piāo fà).
What does it mean word for word?
The term 漂发剂 is composed of 漂 (to bleach/drift), 发 (hair) and 剂 (agent/chemical).
Which one should you use?
While 漂发剂 is used for hair, the term 漂白剂 is the general word for bleach used for laundry or cleaning surfaces.
How do you pronounce it?
piāo fà jì
Did you know?
- Because 漂 (piāo) can mean 'to drift', the phrase 漂泊 (piāo bó) describes a life of wandering or drifting from place to place without a permanent home.
- While English speakers often use 'dye' as a general term for hair color changes, Chinese speakers strictly separates the two actions. They use 漂 (piāo) specifically for pigment removal and 染 (rǎn) exclusively for adding new pigment.
- The concept of bleaching used in 漂发剂 shares a linguistic history with industrial processes. Historically, the term 漂白 (piǎobái) was used to describe the traditional methods of bleaching silk and tea leaves.
Examples in context
- 我希望能够漂白头发。I hope to bleach my hair.
- 这种漂发剂的味道很冲。Zhè zhǒng piàofàjì de wèidào hěn chòng.This hair bleach has a very strong smell.
- 他在店里买了一盒漂发剂。Tā zài diàn lǐ mǎile yī hé piàofàjì.He bought a box of hair bleach at the shop.
- 使用漂发剂之前要戴手套。Shǐyòng piàofàjì zhīqián yào dài shǒutào.You should wear gloves before using hair bleach.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking at a hair salon.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你想用漂发剂吗？Nǐ xiǎng yòng piàofàjì ma?Do you want to use hair bleach?
- 伟 Wei我想把头发变浅一点。Wǒ xiǎng bǎ tóufa biàn qiǎn yīdiǎn.I want to make my hair a bit lighter.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen伟，用这个效果很好。Wěi, yòng zhège xiàoguǒ hěn hǎo.Wei, this one works really well.
- 伟 Wei好的，那我就试试吧。Hǎo de, nà wǒ jiù shìshì ba.Okay, then I will give it a try.
