Chinese white
- noun
- /ˈtʃaɪniːz waɪt/
- Specialized
:
blanco chino
- I prefer using Chinese white for my watercolor paintings.
Examples
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Manufacturers gradually replaced lead-based pigments with safer options like Chinese white.
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The artist mixed Chinese white with watercolors to lighten the shades.
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Chinese white is often preferred in drawings for its opaque coverage.
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The artist bought some Chinese whites for her new project.
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Many artists use Chinese white to create bright highlights in their paintings.
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When mixing paints, Chinese white is often added to achieve a more opaque finish.
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For delicate details, he prefers using Chinese white in his watercolor sets.
Synonyms
A white paint color made from zinc used in paintings
How White
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is built transparently from 'white' (the colour) with 'Chinese' specifying a particular variety or origin, so a B1 learner who knows both words would infer it denotes a specific kind/shade of white, likely a named pigment. They might not deduce the technical detail (zinc oxide) without specialist knowledge, but the basic meaning 'a type of white (used as a pigment)' follows directly from the constituents and common naming patterns.
Etymology
Chinese white may come from early trade when a very pure white powder for paint came from China, so people began calling that bright powder Chinese white. That's why today Chinese white means a white 'paint' used in 'painting' and 'drawing'.