澄 (chéng): clear

Meanings

湖水清澄见底。

Húshuǐ qīngchéng jiàndǐ.

The lake water is clear and you can see the bottom.

我们要澄清事情的真相。

Wǒmen yào chéngqīng shìqing de zhēnxiàng.

We must clarify the facts of this matter.

usage

Read 澄 for the everyday word 澄清 (to clarify, to set the record straight) and for the literary sense of clear, still water.

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (left-side form of 水)

The three-drop water radical (left-side form of 水) gives the core image: water that is clear and settled.

phonetic

登 dēng

to ascend; to mount

On the right 登 supplies the sound, shifted from dēng to chéng (and to dèng in the other reading). It is purely the phonetic element.

澄 chéng