澄 (chéng) · clear, limpid, to clarify

Meanings

1 clear
2 limpid
3 to clarify

Characters

澄

chéng

clear; to clarify

Examples

HSK 6

湖水清澄见底。

Húshuǐ qīngchéng jiàndǐ.

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

HSK 6

我们要澄清事情的真相。

Wǒmen yào chéngqīng shìqing de zhēnxiàng.

We must clarify the facts of this matter.

Tips

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.

Components

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.

Stroke Order

澄 chéng

Related Words

澄清 chéngqīng HSK 7-9 #6,909

to clarify / to clear up (misunderstanding) / clear (of liquid)

玉宇澄清万里埃 yùyǔ chéngqīng wànlǐ āi

to sweep the jade heavens clean of ten-thousand-li dust / to purify the skies of all filth for ten thousand miles / Mao Zedong's triumphant line paired with the Golden Monkey couplet

明确 míngquè HSK 5 #3,762

clear; definite; explicit / to make clear; to clarify

朗 lǎng #4,037

clear / bright / loud and clear

清醒 qīngxǐng HSK 6 #2,064

clear-headed; sober; awake / to become clear-headed; to come to one's senses

弄清 nòngqīng #7,673

to clarify; to figure out / to make clear; to get to the bottom of

明了 míngliǎo #9,023

clear; obvious; plain / to understand; to be clear about

一清二楚 yìqīng-èrchǔ #9,283

crystal clear; perfectly clear / to understand thoroughly

楚 chǔ #7,323

clear; distinct; neat / pain; suffering

避开 bìkāi #4,764

to avoid / to steer clear of / to get out of the way