洁净
jié jìng · HSK 7
clean
🧼✨ 洁 + 净 = pure + clean; both carry the 氵water radical, the stuff that washes
Two near-synonyms doubled up for emphasis: 洁 (pure) and 净 (clean) both wear the three-drop 氵water radical on their left, so the whole word leans on washing-with-water to mean spotless. The sound jié jìng even starts the same, like a tidy rhyme.
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'.