baihua

B3A1I1H4U1A1

noun

Vernacular Chinese, as opposed to Classical Chinese

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Meanings

nounbaihua (uncountable)
  1. uncountableVernacular Chinese, as opposed to Classical Chinese

    The first baihua-journals until about 1901 contained mainly articles and news, which had been originally written in wenyan and were now translated into the vernacular language.

    2004, Michael Lackner, Natascha Vittinghoff, Mapping Meanings: The Field of New Learning in Late Qing China, BRILL, →ISBN, page 280

Origin

From Mandarin 白話／白话 (báihuà).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

baihua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baihua

MLA

“baihua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baihua. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “baihua,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baihua.

Source: baihua on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.