澈 (chè): clear (of water)

Meanings

1 clear (of water)
2 limpid
3 transparent

Characters

澈

chè

clear / limpid (water)

Examples

湖水清澈见底。

Húshuǐ qīngchè jiàn dǐ.

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

她有一双澈如秋水的眼睛。

Tā yǒu yī shuāng chè rú qiū shuǐ de yǎnjīng.

She has eyes as limpid as autumn water.

Tips

usage

澈 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese — it is nearly always used in the compound 清澈 (qīngchè), meaning 'crystal clear'. The character specifically describes water clarity and is used poetically to describe eyes or the sky.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (radical form of 水)

Three-drops water radical on the left — anchors 澈 in the water family and tells you immediately the meaning is about a liquid quality. Here it pairs with the body of 彻 to give 'water you can see through,' the limpid clarity of a clean stream or lake.

semantic

育 yù

to nurture; to bring up (here semantic)

Middle 育 — originally an infant emerging above the flesh-meat radical, meaning 'to bring forth, nurture.' In 澈 it sits inside the body of 彻 'penetrate through.' The right portion 彻 = 育 + 攵 carries the sound chè plus the sense of 'piercing all the way through.'

semantic

攵 pū

tap; strike (radical form of 攴)

Right tap-radical 攵 — a hand holding a stick, signalling active intervention. Together with 育 it forms 彻 'to penetrate through.' Add water on the left and the picture is water clear enough that light strikes all the way to the bottom — perfect transparency, the meaning of 澈.