一尘不染

一塵不染

yīchénbùrǎn

idiom #25,653

Meanings

1 spotlessly clean
2 untainted by even a speck of dust
3 (of a person) honest and incorruptible

Characters

to dye; to taint; to contaminate

Examples

她把房间打扫得一尘不染。

Tā bǎ fángjiān dǎsǎo de yīchén bùrǎn.

She cleaned the room until it was spotlessly clean.

他为官一生，一尘不染，从不受贿。

Tā wéiguān yīshēng, yīchén bùrǎn, cóng bù shòuhuì.

He served as an official his whole life, completely incorruptible and never accepting bribes.

寺庙经过清洁，一尘不染，宁静庄严。

Sìmiào jīngguò qīngjié, yīchén bùrǎn, níngjìng zhuāngyán.

The temple, after cleaning, was spotlessly clean and serenely solemn.

Tips

memory

一尘不染 = not a single speck of dust. In Buddhism, 尘 (dust) symbolizes worldly desires and corruption. To be 一尘不染 is to be untouched by even the tiniest impurity — physically or morally.

Stroke Order

一 yī

尘 chén

不 bù

染 rǎn