白人男孩
bái rén nán hái
The English phrase 'white boy' is translated into Chinese as 白人男孩 (bái rén nán hái).
白人男孩 is used to describe a boy or young man who has white skin.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 白人, meaning 'white person' and 男孩, meaning 'boy'.
Which one should you use?
While 白人男孩 is a descriptive term for a specific person, using just 白人 refers to a 'white person' in a more general sense.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Hong Kong, the term 鬼佬仔 is commonly used to refer to a white boy and can be translated as 'foreign boy'.
How does it change in a sentence?
As a noun phrase, 白人男孩 does not change its form based on its position in a sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
bái rén nán hái
Did you know?
- In Cantonese, the term 鬼佬仔 for a white boy uses the character 鬼, which literally means 'ghost'.
- In mainland China, the term 老外 ('old foreigner') is a common, friendly way to refer to any foreigner, regardless of whether they are a 'white boy' or an adult.
- The term 白 (white) is also used in Chinese to describe someone who is very fair-skinned, regardless of their actual ethnicity.
Examples in context
- 我认识一个白人男孩。I know a white boy.
- 那个白人男孩在看书。Nàge báirén nánhái zài kànshū.That white boy is reading a book.
- 那个白人男孩很有礼貌。Nàge báirén nánhái hěn yǒu lǐmào.That white boy is very polite.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Yuting are talking about a new neighbor.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你看到新搬来的白人男孩了吗？Nǐ kàndào xīn bānlái de báirén nánhái le ma?Have you seen the white boy who just moved in?
- 雨婷 Yuting看到了，他看起来很友好。Kàndào le, tā kàn qǐlái hěn yǒuhǎo.I saw him, he seems very friendly.
- 志强 Zhiqiang他好像会说一点中文。Tā hǎoxiàng huì shuō yìdiǎn Zhōngwén.It seems like he can speak a little Chinese.
- 雨婷 Yuting那太好了，我们可以交个朋友。Nà tài hǎo le, wǒmen kěyǐ jiāo ge péngyou.That's great, we can make a friend.
