清書
せいしょ · seisho · JLPT N2 · noun
transcript
📄 清 = clear, 書 = writing: a clear writing is the clean copy
清 (sei) means clear or pure, and 書 (sho) means writing or document. Put together, 清書 is the neatly rewritten final version of a draft.
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.