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Kanji Detail for 清 - "clear, fresh, serene"

清

  • Meaning

    清 means "clear, fresh, serene."

    1. Clear - Pure; clean.

    2. Pure - Free from contamination.

    3. Fresh - Clean and refreshing.

  • Words using 清

    • 清算 せいさん Listen (financial) settlement; squaring accounts; clearing debts
    • 清掃 せいそう Listen cleaning; clean-up; garbage collection
    • 清潔 せいけつ Listen clean; hygienic; sanitary
    • 清新 せいしん Listen fresh; new
    • 清涼 せいりょう Listen cool; refreshing
    • 清流 せいりゅう Listen clear stream
    • 清酒 せいしゅ Listen refined sake
    • 清貧 せいひん Listen poverty without selfish desire; honourable poverty (honorable); being poor yet honest

  • Four-character idioms with 清

    • 六根清浄 ろっこんしょうじょう Listen purification of the six roots of perception
    • 刻露清秀 こくろせいしゅう Listen clean and refreshing scenery of autumn
    • 和敬清寂 わけいせいじゃく Listen harmony, respect, purity and tranquility; the four most important elements of the tea ceremony
    • 清廉潔白 せいれんけっぱく Listen spotless integrity; absolute honesty; uprightness
    • 清浄潔白 せいじょうけっぱく Listen upright and clean-handed; pure in heart and with a clean conscience
    • 清浄無垢 せいじょうむく Listen purity; spotlessness

  • Origin of 清

    The water radical 氵 beside 青, which lends the reading sei and its own sense of living blue-green: water clear to the bottom.

    How to remember it: Water 氵 so alive it runs blue 青 — you can see every stone: clear, pure.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 清

    • Verified meaning: clear, fresh, serene
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read いさみ, きよ, きよい, きよかつ)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 清

    Given names 清(いさみ)Listen 清(きよ)Listen 清(きよし)Listen

    Surnames 清(きよい)Listen 清(きよかつ)Listen 清(きよさき)Listen 清(きよざき)Listen 清(きょじ)Listen 清(きよじ)Listen 清(きよすえ)Listen 清(きよすみ)Listen 清(きよずみ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    pure; purify; cleanse; exorcise; Manchu dynasty

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    clear, pure, clean; peaceful

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    Qing (Wade-Giles: Ch'ing) dynasty of China (1644–1911); surname Qing

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    clean, pure; clear, distinct; peaceful

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    The opposite of muddy. Water without sediment or turbidity is called 清 (clear). | Clean. As in disdaining to do unclean things is called 清白. All terms like 清操, 清節 have this meaning. | To arrange is called 清. As in 清釐 (to sort out), 清理 (to arrange). | Having the meaning of being simple and few. As in "government is simple, punishments are few" (政簡刑清). | Having the meaning of empty. As in 太清 is like saying 太虛, 太空, meaning heaven. | Having the meaning of conclusion. As in accounts being 清訖 (cleared). | Name of a dynasty. Qing Emperor Shizu Fulin entered and occupied China from Manchuria. Until the Xuantong emperor abdicated, there were ten emperors over 267 years. | [Character explanation] The lower right is from 丹 of "vermilion and blue" (丹青).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    sei(セイ) セイ

    shin(シン) シン

    shoh(ショウ) ショウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    kiyo.i(きよ-い) きよ-い

    kiyo.maru(きよ-まる) きよ-まる

    kiyomeru(きよ-める) きよ-める

  • Strokes

    tip

    11 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    水 氵 氺 (mizu・sanzui・shitamizu)

  • Related Keywords

    clear fresh serene calm pure clean bright immaculate innocent limpid lucid neat pristine refined transparent spotless

Sentences including 清

  • Are your hands clean?

  • The japanese are a very clean people.

  • She always keeps her hair clean.

  • Keep your room clean.

  • His room is kept clean by her.

  • If i pay you a dollar , we'll be even.

  • Purification of the mind.

  • He always keeps his room clean.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 水 氵 氺 (mizu・sanzui・shitamizu)

See all kanji with this radical →

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