青白い
あおじろい · aojiroi · JLPT N2 · i-adj
pale
青白い = 青 blue + 白い white: bluish-white, the colour of a sickly face
Japanese calls a pale, unwell complexion blue-white rather than just white. 顔が青白い means someone looks pale or ill. The ao- part is 青 read あお, and it is followed by the adjective 白い, whose し changes to じ in the compound.
青 — 生 (growth/sprout) on top + 丹 (well/cinnabar) below
青 originally depicted young plants (生) growing above a mineral pit (丹, cinnabar well), suggesting the fresh blue-green color of new growth and natural pigments. Over time it came to cover a range of cool colors—green, blue, and even black—and by extension means 'young' or 'youthful.'
白 — pictograph; resembles 日 (sun) with a stroke on top
白 is generally considered a pictograph, traditionally explained as depicting the sun rising with a ray of light above it, hence the meaning 'white' or 'bright.' Some scholars instead see it as a drawing of a thumbnail or an acorn. From 'bright' it extended to 'clear,' 'plain,' and 'to state plainly.'