白首

Chinese

		white; empty; blank white; empty; blank; bright; clear; plain; pure; gratuitous	head; chief; first (occasion) head; chief; first (occasion); first (thing); measure word for poems
simp. and trad. (白首)		白	首

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): báishǒu

(Zhuyin): ㄅㄞˊ ㄕㄡˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): baak⁶ sau²
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): pe̍k-siú

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: báishǒu
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄞˊ ㄕㄡˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: báishǒu
  - Wade–Giles: pai²-shou³
  - Yale: bái-shǒu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bairshoou
  - Palladius: байшоу (bajšou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /paɪ̯³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: baak⁶ sau²
  - Yale: baahk sáu
  - Cantonese Pinyin: baak⁹ sau²
  - Guangdong Romanization: bag⁶ seo²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /paːk̚² sɐu̯³⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pe̍k-siú
  - Tâi-lô: pi̍k-siú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: pegsiuo
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /piɪk̚⁴⁻³² siu⁴¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /piɪk̚⁴⁻³² siu⁵³/

Middle Chinese: baek syuwX

Rime
Character	白	首
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Initial (聲)	並 (3)	書 (26)
Final (韻)	陌 (113)	尤 (136)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	II	III
Fanqie	傍陌切	書九切
Baxter	baek	syuwX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/bˠæk̚/	/ɕɨu^X/
Pan Wuyun	/bᵚak̚/	/ɕiu^X/
Shao Rongfen	/bak̚/	/ɕiəu^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/baɨjk̚/	/ɕuw^X/
Li Rong	/bɐk̚/	/ɕiu^X/
Wang Li	/bɐk̚/	/ɕĭəu^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/bʱɐk̚/	/ɕi̯ə̯u^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	bó	shǒu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	bak⁶	sau²

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*bˤrak l̥uʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*braːɡ hljuʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	白	首
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bái	shǒu
Middle Chinese	‹ bæk ›	‹ syuw^X ›
Old Chinese	/*bˁrak/	/*l̥uʔ/
English	white	head
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	白	首
Reading #	1/1	1/2
No.	207	11671
Phonetic component	白	首
Rime group	鐸	幽
Rime subdivision	0	1
Corresponding MC rime	白	首
Old Chinese	/*braːɡ/	/*hljuʔ/

Noun

白首

(literary) white hair
(literary) old age
(literary) old people

Derived terms

白首一節 / 白首一节
白首之心
白首北面
白首同歸 / 白首同归
白首如新
白首無成 / 白首无成
白首相知
白首空歸 / 白首空归
白首窮經 / 白首穷经

Verb

白首

(literary, of a couple) to live together until the white hairs of old age; to grow old together
- 妾與君無媒妁之言，父母之命，逾牆鑽隙，何能白首？ [Literary Chinese, trad.]
  妾与君无媒妁之言，父母之命，逾墙钻隙，何能白首？ [Literary Chinese, simp.]
  From: 1740 CE, Pu Songling, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
  Qiè yǔ jūn wú méishuòzhīyán, fùmǔzhīmìng, yúqiángzuānxì, hé néng báishǒu? [Pinyin]
  You and I are meeting secretly without the words of a matchmaker and the commands of our parents. How can we live together until our hairs turn grey?
- 2019, “下一位前度 [NEXT]”‎^[1]performed by 林家謙 [Terence Lam]:
  
  寧願能白首　還是罷手 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
  宁愿能白首　还是罢手 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]
  ning⁴ jyun⁶ nang⁴ baak⁶ sau², waan⁴ si⁶ baa⁶ sau² [Jyutping]
  Would I rather be able to grow old together [with them] or let go?

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
白	首
はく Grade: 1	しゅ Grade: 2
kan'on	goon

Noun

白(はく)首(しゅ) • (hakushu)

white hair
old people

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
白	首
しろ Grade: 1	くび Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Noun

白(しろ)首(くび) • (shirokubi)

(historical) a low class unlicensed prostitute who paints the nape of her neck with white powder
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:娼婦

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
白	首
しら Grade: 1	くび Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Noun

白(しら)首(くび) • (shirakubi)

synonym of 白首 (shirokubi, “low class unlicensed prostitute”)