清 (qīng): clear, pure
清 (qīng) is a Chinese character meaning “clear, pure.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 青 (phonetic). It ranks #335 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 清 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- clear, pure
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 清 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 清
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 清楚adjective/verb | qīng chu | clear | 3 |
| 清醒adjective/verb | qīng xǐng | clear-headed | 6 |
| 清理verb | qīng lǐ | to clear up | 6 |
| 清洁adjective | qīng jié | clean | 6 |
| 清晰adjective | qīng xī | clear | 6 |
| 清洗verb | qīng xǐ | to wash | 6 |
| 清晨noun | qīng chén | early morning | 6 |
| 清扫verb | qīng sǎo | to tidy up | 6 |
| 清淡 | qīng dàn | light (of food, not greasy or strongly flavored) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 清白 | qīng bái | pure |
| 清单 | qīng dān | list of items |
| 清除 | qīng chú | to clear away |
| 澄清 | chéng qīng | clear (of liquid) |
| 弄清 | nòng qīng | to clarify |
| 付清 | fù qīng | to pay in full |
| 查清 | chá qīng | to find out |
| 清静 | qīng jìng | quiet |
| 清点 | qīng diǎn | to check |
| 清查 | qīng chá | to investigate thoroughly |
| 分清 | fēn qīng | to distinguish (between different things) |
| 划清 | huà qīng | to make a clear distinction |
| 清澈 | qīng chè | clear |
| 清净 | qīng jìng | peaceful |
| 清风 | qīng fēng | cool breeze |
清 appears in 100 compound words: 66 as the first character, 34 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 清 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (25)
lit. ears pure and peaceful (idiom); to stay away from the filth and unrest of the world
to fortify defences and evacuate all civilians and supplies; scorched-earth policy
an outsider can see things more clearly or objectively than those involved (idiom)
to fortify defences and evacuate all civilians and supplies; scorched-earth policy
Showing 12 of 25 idioms containing 清.
Example Sentences
这份报告写得很清楚，每个数据都有详细的来源说明。
Zhè fèn bàogào xiě de hěn qīngchǔ, měi gè shùjù dōu yǒu xiángxì de láiyuán shuōmíng.
This report is written very clearly, with detailed source explanations for each data point.
...統邀五院茶敘 鍾佳濱:可協調院際扞格、釐清關稅議題
. . . 統 yāo wǔ yuàn chá 敘 鍾 jiā 濱 kě 協 調 yuàn 際 扞 gé 釐 qīng 關 稅 議 題
...invited representatives from five institutions to a tea gathering. Chung Chia-pin: This can help coordinate inter-institutional conflicts and clarify tariff issues.
泰国清迈爆猫瘟 12天72头老虎接连暴毙尸体堆...
tài guó qīng mài bào māo wēn tiān tóu lǎo hǔ jiē lián bào bì shī tǐ duī . . .
Thailand's Chiang Mai Hit by Cat Plague: 72 Tigers Die in 12 Days, Bodies Piled Up...
川普大翻車!他斷言「選舉玩完了」 點名賴清德公開道歉
chuān pǔ dà fān 車 ! tā 斷 yán 選 舉 wán wán le 點 míng 賴 qīng dé gōng 開 dào qiàn
Trump's major backfire! He declared "the election is over" and demanded Lai Ching-te publicly apologize.
獨家》韓國瑜也穿?賴清德邀五院院長茶敘 伴手禮竟是這「超夯戰袍...
獨 jiā 韓 國 瑜 yě chuān ? 賴 qīng dé yāo wǔ yuàn yuàn 長 chá 敘 bàn shǒu 禮 jìng shì 這 chāo 夯 戰 páo . . .
Exclusive: Han Kuo-yu Wears It Too? Lai Ching-te Hosts Tea Gathering for Five Agency Heads—Surprise Gift Is This "Ultra-Popular Battle Garment..."
...忌扫地予适度宽容 倪可敏吁燃放烟花后自发清理
. . . jì sǎo dì yú shì dù kuān róng 倪 kě mǐn xū rán fàng yān huā hòu zì fā qīng lǐ
...Refrain from sweeping the ground and exercise appropriate tolerance. Nik Kok Mun urges voluntary cleanup after fireworks displays.
...1五楊高架小黃乘客離奇墜橋亡 檢警相驗釐清原因
. . . wǔ 楊 gāo jià xiǎo 黃 chéng kè 離 qí 墜 橋 wáng 檢 jǐng xiāng 驗 釐 qīng yuán yīn
Passenger in Yellow Taxi Plunges to Death from Wuyang Elevated Road Bridge Prosecutors and Police Conduct Autopsy to Determine Cause
Karina被吃豆腐?韓男星澄清:我是手癢
bèi chī dòu fǔ ? 韓 nán xīng chéng qīng wǒ shì shǒu 癢
Karina groped? Korean star clarifies: "My hand just got itchy."
...:用严苛标准,为央视春晚打造 “舌尖上的清..
. . . yòng yán kē biāo zhǔn , wéi yāng shì chūn wǎn dǎ zào jī jiān shǎng de qīng . .
... : With strict standards, for the CCTV Spring Festival Gala to create a "tongue clear...
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 清 (qīng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 清 and 睛?
How many strokes does 清 have?
What is the radical of 清?
What are the components of 清?
What are common words containing 清?
What characters sound the same as 清 (qīng)?
Is 清 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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