淨 (jìng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

淨

jìng[jing4]Tone 4

clean

HSK 1

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净

Guru Deep Dive

English · clean

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (冫) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (争) occupies the remaining two-thirds with a strong horizontal balance.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 淨 uses the water radical 氵 (three strokes) on the left, while the simplified form 净 uses the ice radical 冫 (two strokes), reflecting stylistic consolidation.

1. Meaning

clean, pure, spotless

completely, entirelyonlynet weight or incomepainted-face male role in traditional Chinese opera

Adjective / Adverb / NounNeutral#hygiene#extent#theater

Sample Usage

这件衣服洗干净了。
Zhè jiàn yīfu xǐ gānjìng le.
This piece of clothing has been washed clean.
净利润
jìnglìrùn
Net profit

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹]/Tone: 51

淨

jìngjing4

`(51)

=jìng

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j sound as in 'jeep' or 'jump'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the hard palate, releasing gently without a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

ing

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: -ing rhymes with 'sing' or 'ring'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eeng'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply, matching an abrupt downward pitch command in English.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with jīng (Tone 1, high level). Make sure to drop the pitch decisively down to the bottom of your vocal range.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp drop from high to low, just like shouting a firm 'No!' or giving a sudden command.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (冫) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (争) occupies the remaining two-thirds with a strong horizontal balance.

4. Components

Radical 冫 · Ice radical (Ice, cold, water element)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 冫 (Indicates water, purity, or washing)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 争 (original sound: zhēng)

Ice (冫) meets contention or struggle (争); when you vigorously scrub and fight against dirt, you make things completely clean.

冫 Ice / Water element
争 To contend / Phonetic clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

8· Phonetic Root: 爭 ()

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally written with water (氵) and contest (争), combining the idea of washing away dirt to achieve purity.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from physical washing with water to mean 'clean', 'pure', and later extended to mean 'net' (free of deductions) and theatrical roles.

In traditional Chinese opera, the 'jing' role refers to painted-face male characters who wear elaborate theatrical makeup.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ジョウ (jō) / Kun: きよ.める (kiyomeru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

정

Sound Shift Bridge: The -ing final in Mandarin frequently corresponds to -ing or -ei sounds in related borrowings.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use ice-cold water (冫) to scrub and fight (争) away all the stains until the clothes are completely **clean** (jìng).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

争

zhēngTo fight / contendBase phonetic component without the ice radical.

挣

zhèngTo struggle / earnUses the hand radical (扌) instead of ice (冫).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

争(zhēng)

Missing the ice radical (冫) on the left.

静(jìng)

Uses the blue/green radical (青) on the right instead of 争, meaning 'quiet' rather than 'clean'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

這張桌子擦得很[___]。

Clue: gān jìng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 净 (clean) with 静 (quiet) because they share the exact same pinyin and tone (jìng).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 净 mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'clean' (jìng) with its ice radical?

淨jìngclean

Speed:

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