Nihongo

Kanji Detail of 清

Level:N2 Mid
Strokes:11
Stroke Order
Related Words
AI Explanation
Basic Meaning

The kanji primarily conveys the meanings of "purity," "cleanliness," "clarity," and "freshness." It often describes something that is free from impurities, either physically or metaphorically. It can also refer to a state of being clear, serene, or refreshing.

Readings

・On-yomi (音読み): セイ (sei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): きよ(い) (kiyo(i)) - pure, clean; きよ(まる) (kiyo(maru)) - to become pure, to be cleansed; きよ(める) (kiyo(meru)) - to purify, to cleanse

Usage Examples

⚫︎清い水 Translation: Clean water ⚫︎清掃 (seisou) Translation: Cleaning; Sanitation ⚫︎清らかな心 Translation: A pure heart

Correspondence with Your Native Language

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Origin and Formation

The kanji is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is a water radical (氵, or 水 - mizu - water), and the right side is the phonetic component 青 (pronounced sei in Chinese, meaning "blue," or "green"). The original meaning of the character was closely related to the clearness of water. The presence of the water radical (氵) indicates that the meaning is related to water. Therefore, the combination suggests the idea of "clear water," which then evolved to encompass the broader meanings of "purity" and "clarity."

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