明明白白

míngmíngbáibái
phrase #24,906

Meanings

  1. 1 clearly
  2. 2 plainly
  3. 3 obviously
  4. 4 in plain terms
  5. 5 crystal clear

Examples

Tā shuō de míngmíngbáibái, dàjiā dōu tīngdǒng le.
He stated it crystal clearly and everyone understood.
Hétong shàng xiě de míngmíngbáibái, nǐ zěnme néng làizhàng?
It is written clearly in the contract — how can you deny it?

Tips

grammar
明明白白 is formed by reduplicated pairs: 明明 (clearly/obviously) + 白白 (plainly/in vain). As an adverb it modifies verbs: 明明白白 (stated clearly). Both and individually mean 'clear/bright,' so the compound emphasizes absolute clarity.

Stroke Order

míng
bái