清静
qīng jìng · HSK 7
quiet
🍃 清 clear + 静 still = clear-and-still, i.e. calm quiet
Both halves stack the same idea: 清 means clear or pure, 静 means quiet or still. Together they name a settled, undisturbed calm. Note the tone shift qīng then jìng, rising then falling.
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.
静 — 青 (blue/green) + 争 (contend/strive)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 争 ('contend') originally suggested calming a dispute, while 青 lent the sound and a sense of clarity. Together they convey stillness after strife has settled, giving the modern meaning 'quiet, calm, still.'