How to Say "White" in Cantonese

白色

baak⁶ sik¹

白色 (baak⁶ sik¹) is the Cantonese word for the color white.

白色 is used as a noun to refer to the color white itself.

Meaning: color (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word 白色 is composed of the adjective 白 (white) and the noun 色 (color), literally meaning "white color".

While 白色 is the formal noun for the color, the single character 白 is used more frequently as a direct adjective in casual speech.

When using 白色 as an adjective to describe a noun, it is common to add the particle 嘅 after it, forming 白色嘅.

baak⁶ sik¹

In traditional Cantonese culture, 白 is the color of death and mourning. Wearing 白色 clothes to a wedding or a celebratory party is often seen as a bad omen.
In Cantonese, the word 白 can also mean 'empty' or 'in vain', such as when describing a wasted effort or a 'blank' result.
When someone is described as 白 in a social context, it can mean they are 'innocent' or 'naive' to the point of being easily fooled.

隻馬唔係白色㗎。
The horse is not white.
This sentence is useful for negating a color attribute for an animal using 白色.
Tatoeba #3365053 by kaenif, translation #3143476 by belvis
佢養咗兩隻貓：一隻係黑色嘅，一隻係白色嘅。
He keeps two cats: one is black, and the other white.
This sentence shows how to use 白色 to distinguish between two items of different colors.
Tatoeba #616094 by nickyeow, translation #288511 by shekitten
我見到一架紅色車同埋一架白色車，紅色嗰架靚過白色嗰架。
I saw a red car and a white one, the red one was nicer looking than the other.
This sentence demonstrates using 白色 to compare the appearance of two objects.
Tatoeba #577486 by nickyeow, translation #259019 by papabear
24 more sentences on Tatoeba

Ka Yan and Chun Kit are choosing a new sofa.

嘉欣 Ka Yan

你鍾意咩色？
nei5 zung1 ji3 me1 sik1?
What color do you like?
俊傑 Chun Kit

我覺得白色好睇。
ngo5 gok3 dak1 baak6 sik1 hou2 tai2.
I think white looks good.
嘉欣 Ka Yan

呢件白色嘅沙發真係好靚。
nei1 gin6 baak6 sik1 ge3 saa1 faat3 zan1 hai6 hou2 leng3.
This white sofa is really beautiful.
俊傑 Chun Kit

係呀，我哋買呢件啦。
hai6 aa3, ngo5 dei6 maai5 nei1 gin6 laa1.
Yes, let's buy this one.

Sources

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