清洁
qīngjié · HSK 6
clean
🫧✨ water + blue = clear; water + lucky = pure — double water, double clean
Both characters carry the water radical 氵. 清 pairs it with 青 (blue/green) for clarity. 洁 pairs it with 吉 (auspicious) for purity. Two waters working together spell spotless.
清 — water 氵 + 青 (azure/blue-green, phonetic)
清 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The water radical 氵 gives the meaning—originally clear, unmuddied water—while 青 (qīng, azure) supplies the sound and reinforces the image of pure blue-green water. The sense later broadened from 'clear water' to 'clear, pure, clean' in general.