干净
gānjìng · HSK 1
clean
🧼✨ 干净 = dry (干) + pure (净); 'dried-and-purified' means spotless
干 means dry, 净 means pure or clean. Together they form the everyday word for 'clean' — a surface that's both dried off and free of grime. Common in 打扫干净 (sweep clean) and 吃干净 (eat it all up).
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.
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'.