白い · i-adjective
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 白い | 白くない |
| Polite | 白いです | 白くないですalso 白くありません |
| Past polite | 白かったです | 白くなかったですalso 白くありませんでした |
| Past | 白かった | 白くなかった |
| Te-form | 白くて | 白くなくて |
| Adverbial | 白く | |
| Conditional | 白ければ | 白くなければ |
| Tara conditional | 白かったら | 白くなかったら |
The basic color adjective, used for objects, light-colored surfaces, skin, hair, clothing, and similar concrete things.
壁を白く塗った。
I painted the wall white.
She is wearing a white shirt.
Used when a surface such as paper, a field, a map, or a coloring-book area has nothing written, colored, or marked on it; often close to 'left blank' or 'still untouched.'
塗り絵の空はまだ白い。
The sky in the coloring book is still uncolored.
この欄は白いままで提出してもかまいません。
You may submit this field left blank.
innocent; not guilty; pure; spotless
Figurative use based on whiteness as lack of stain: morally pure, clean, or not implicated in wrongdoing. In suspicion or investigation contexts, 白い means closer to 'innocent' or 'not guilty,' often in phrases such as 限りなく白い.
証拠を見る限り、彼は限りなく白い。
Judging from the evidence, he is almost certainly innocent.
子どもの白い心を大切にしたい。
I want to cherish the purity of a child's heart.
Archaic use meaning bright or vivid rather than simply white. In modern Japanese, 明るい or 鮮やか is normally used for this meaning.
古語では「白い」が明るい・鮮やかな様子を表すことがある。
In classical usage, 白い can describe something as bright or vivid.
inexperienced; naive; unrefined
Archaic figurative use for someone inexperienced, naive, or not yet polished. Modern Japanese normally uses words such as 未熟, 世間知らず, or 垢抜けない.
古い用法では「白い」が未熟で世慣れないことを指す場合がある。
In older usage, 白い can refer to being inexperienced and naive.
He is wearing a white shirt.
The last page of the notebook was still blank.
As a result of the investigation, he was judged to be practically innocent.
In winter, her skin becomes even paler.
白 is the noun for 'white' or 'innocence' and cannot itself act as a predicate, unlike the i-adjective 白い.
white of the eye · cold, unwelcoming eyes
white; white color
black and white; monochrome · good and evil; right and wrong; guilt and innocence
pure white; snow-white · blank; empty
fair-skinned; light-complexioned
egg white · white-fleshed fish; white meat; fatty meat · sapwood
termite; white ant
white circle; white star · victory mark; win
motorcycle police; traffic police on motorcycles · white police motorcycle
interest; appeal; fun
polar bear
white-eye (bird family Zosteropidae) · Japanese white-eye; Zosterops japonicus
milky water from washing rice
pale; pallid · bluish-white
black and white · right and wrong; black and white; rights and wrongs of a matter
whitish; pale; light-colored · amateurish; inexperienced; green
white rabbit
albino Japanese rat snake
sweet white sake · doburoku (unrefined sake)
Oriental odd-tooth snake; Japanese odd-tooth snake
pure white; snow-white
white bridal kimono
white clothing; white robes
white fox; supernatural white fox · Arctic fox
blue and white; blue-white · paleness; pallor
white miso
white clover; Dutch clover