一干二净
yī gān èr jìng · HSK 7
completely
🧹✨ 干 = dry + 净 = clean; one dry, two clean = wiped out completely, nothing left
一 — single horizontal stroke
一 is one of the simplest pictographs in Chinese, depicting a single horizontal line to represent the number one. It has retained essentially the same form since oracle bone script over 3,000 years ago. By extension it also means 'first,' 'whole,' or 'same.'
干 — pictograph of a forked weapon/shield
干 originally depicted a forked wooden weapon or shield used in ancient warfare, giving the early sense of 'to offend' or 'to oppose.' Over time it took on extended meanings like 'to concern' and 'trunk/stem.' In modern simplified Chinese it also absorbed 乾 (dry) and 幹 (to do; trunk), so one character now covers several unrelated words.
二 — two horizontal strokes 一 + 一
二 is an indicative character showing the number two with two simple horizontal lines, parallel to 一 (one) and 三 (three). The form has been stable since oracle bone script. It directly represents the concept of 'two' rather than depicting any physical object.
净 — water radical 氵 + 争 (zhēng, contend)
净 combines the water radical 氵 with 争, which provides the sound. Originally written 淨, it depicted water used to wash things clean, with 争 hinting at the pronunciation. The meaning extended from 'wash with water' to the modern senses of 'clean, pure, net'.