澈 (chè) · clear (of water), limpid, transparent

Meanings

1 clear (of water)
2 limpid
3 transparent

Characters

澈

chè

clear / limpid (water)

Examples

HSK 6

湖水清澈见底。

Húshuǐ qīngchè jiàn dǐ.

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

HSK 7-9

她有一双澈如秋水的眼睛。

Tā yǒu yī shuāng chè rú qiū shuǐ de yǎnjing.

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.