净化
jìng huà · HSK 7
to purify
🚿 净 (clean/pure) + 化 (-ify/transform) = to make pure, purify
化 is the same suffix in 变化 (change) and English -ify/-ization: it turns a quality into a process. So 净化 = clean + -ify = the act of purifying water, air, or the soul.
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'.
化 — person 亻 + spoon/upside-down person 匕
化 is an associative compound showing a standing person 亻 next to 匕, originally a depiction of a person turned upside-down. Together they suggest a figure transforming from one state to another, giving the core meaning 'change' or 'transform'. The character later extended to senses like 'convert', 'influence', and the noun suffix '-ization'.