Today’s word of the day is 白 (bái) which literally means ‘white’ or ‘free’. Let’s practice making different words, phrases, and sentences with 白 (bái).
白吃 (bái chī) To eat for free
The first word is 白吃 (bái chī) which means ‘to eat for free. Let’s look at each character of this word, 白 means ‘free’ and 吃 means ‘eat’. There is a common phrase used to describe people who freeload off others, this is 白吃白喝 (bái chī bái hē) to freeload.
白住 (bái zhù) To live for free
Another word we can create with 白 (bái) is 白住 (bái zhù). This means ‘to live for free’. Let’s again look at each character of this word, 白 means ‘free’ and 住 means ‘to live'. A way of using it in a sentence is 碗我来洗，我不会白住的。(Wǎn wǒ lái xǐ, wǒ bù huì bái zhù de) I‘ll wash the dishes, I won’t live for free.
白干 (bái gān) To work for free
Finally, we can create the word 白干 (bái gān) which means ‘To work for free’. The 干 here means ‘to work’. A way of using it in a sentence is 他白干了一场。(Tā báigānle yī chǎng.) He worked for free or in other words, he did it all for nothing.