The character 清 — “clear”: how to write it and what it means
clear, pure
The Chinese character 清 is read qīng and means “clear, pure”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 清
清 has 11 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 清, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 清 is made of
On the left, 氵 “water”; on the right, 青 qīng hints at the sound, as it also does in 请, 情, 晴.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 清
- 清楚clear, distinctHSK 3
- 清洁clean (lit.); clean upHSK 6
- 清扫sweep, clean upHSK 6
- 清洗wash, rinseHSK 6
- 清理clear up, sort out (a mess)HSK 6
- 清淡light, not greasy (of food)HSK 6
- 清晨early morning, at dawnHSK 6
- 清醒clear-headed; come toHSK 6
- 清晰clear, distinctHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 清?
清 has 11 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 清 mean?
清 means “clear, pure”. It appears in 清楚 (“clear”), 清洁 (“clean”), 清扫 (“sweep”), 清洗 (“wash”).
How do you pronounce 清?
清 is read qīng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 清 have?
11 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 清 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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