白はく紙し

also: しらかみ

は

く

し

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

white paper; flyleaf

Refers to paper that is white, and in book contexts can mean a blank leaf such as a flyleaf. The flyleaf use is more specialized than the everyday sense of blank paper.

この本ほんは表ひょう紙しの次つぎに白はく紙しが一いち枚まい入はいっている。
This book has a flyleaf after the cover.

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

blank paper; blank sheet

Used for a sheet or form with nothing written or printed on it; also used adjectivally with の, as in 白紙の答案.

彼かれは白はく紙しの答とう案あんを提てい出しゅつした。
He submitted a blank answer sheet.
メモ用ように白しら紙かみを一いち枚まいください。
Please give me a blank sheet for notes.

noun

clean slate; no prior position; open mind

Figurative use for having no predetermined opinion, stance, plan, or assumptions before considering something.

その案あんについては、白はく紙しの立たち場ばで検けん討とうします。
We will consider that proposal from a neutral, undecided position.

noun

from scratch; back to the beginning

Especially common in fixed phrases such as 白紙に戻す and 白紙に戻る, meaning to cancel what has been decided and return to the starting point.

Written forms

白紙Usage100%
- はくし
  Standard and common reading for all modern senses, including blank paper and figurative uses such as 白紙に戻す.
- しらかみ
  Attested alternate reading with no priority marking; learners should normally read this spelling as はくし.
しらかみ

Kanji

白white
紙paper

Similar words

白はく紙しに戻もどす
A fixed verb phrase using 白紙; it specifically means to cancel or reset something and start over.
空くう白はく
Means a blank space, gap, or empty interval; it focuses on absence or space rather than a physical sheet of paper.
無む地じ
Means plain or unpatterned, especially for cloth, paper, or design; it does not necessarily mean blank or undecided.

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese compound of 白 meaning white and 紙 meaning paper. The figurative senses come naturally from the image of a blank sheet with nothing yet written on it.