清 (qīng) is a Chinese character meaning “clear”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 青 (blue-green; young), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “clear”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
氵 + 青
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 清，朖也。澂水之皃。从水，青聲 (modern form checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–2 氵, 3–10 青)
Memory aid
Water (氵) so clear that you can see its blue-green (青) colour. Clear water — 清 means clear. (A memory aid, not the historical origin.)
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 清楚qīng chuclear; to understand clearly清 = qīng
- 清水qīng shuǐclear water; fresh water清 = qīng
- 清爽qīng shuǎngfresh and cool; clean and refreshing清 = qīng
- 弄清nòng qīngto make clear; to figure out清 = qīng
- 清淡qīng dànlight (of food); not greasy or strongly flavoured清 = qīng
Go deeper
All readings
clear
clear; clean; pure; quiet; distinct; to clear up
水或其他液体、气体纯净透明，没有杂质；也指清楚、明白，或把事情理清。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 清楚qīng chuclear; to understand clearly清 = qīng
- 清水qīng shuǐclear water; fresh water清 = qīng
- 清爽qīng shuǎngfresh and cool; clean and refreshing清 = qīng
- 弄清nòng qīngto make clear; to figure out清 = qīng
- 清淡qīng dànlight (of food); not greasy or strongly flavoured清 = qīng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 清 mean?
清 (qīng) means clear; clean; pure; quiet; distinct; to clear up.
How do you pronounce 清?
It is pronounced qīng.
What parts is 清 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 青 (blue-green; young), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 清，朖也。澂水之皃。从水，青聲 (modern form checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–2 氵, 3–10 青). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 清 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 清?
氵. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 清?
Common ones are 清楚, 清水, 清爽. The reading of 清 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.