qīng
clear; clean; distinct
Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
3 senses · 6 wordsClear water, cleanliness, or removing disorder. The exact action or quality belongs to the word as a whole.
Clarity of perception or understanding. These words describe whether something is distinct or a person is mentally alert.
The Qing dynasty as a proper name. This historical name is a separate lexical use, not a definition of the water component.
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
- qīng — Clear water, cleanliness, or removing disorder. The exact action or quality belongs to the word as a whole.
- qīng — Clarity of perception or understanding. These words describe whether something is distinct or a person is mentally alert.
- qīng — The Qing dynasty as a proper name. This historical name is a separate lexical use, not a definition of the water component.
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 清 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Source record & scope
Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kJapanese ↗ · provisional property
セイ ショウ ジョウ シン きよい きよまる きよめる すむKorean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 청
- Personal-name Hanja (N)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
2 direct parts- Layout
- left right
- Index radical
- 水 · 85 · 8 residual strokes
The modern direct components are 氵 on the left and 青 on the right. The historical roles are separately supported by the CUHK entry: water as the semantic component and 青 as the phonetic component. Indexing 清 under water, noticing its shape, and explaining its historical construction are related but distinct assertions.
Follow the recorded parts
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
A boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
11 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences這裡的河水很清。
这里的河水很清。
The river water here is very clear.
請把字寫清楚。
请把字写清楚。
Please write the characters clearly.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
1 phonetic neighboursRelated by a documented phonetic role; modern readings can differ.
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsMeaning and sound
CUHK’s discussion states that bronze and manuscript forms combine 水 with phonetic 青 and identifies clear water as the basic sense. It also quotes the Shuowen’s corresponding semantic-phonetic analysis. This supports a historical sound-family edge from 清 to 青, rather than a family assembled solely from modern pronunciation.
Limits of the early record
The entry says the meaning in the bronze inscription is unclear, while citing manuscript uses for purity and a borrowed use corresponding to 靜. The uncertainty concerns particular attestations; it does not justify inventing an oracle-bone specimen or a continuous chain of dated shapes.
Reading this character · explanatory note
清 is a good place to see meaning and sound working together. The left side is 氵, the water component; the right side is 青. CUHK explicitly interprets the historical construction as water-related meaning with 青 providing sound, and connects its basic sense with clear water. In contemporary words that idea reaches beyond water: 清楚 is clear or understandable, 清潔 / 清洁 means clean, and 清醒 describes being awake or clear-headed. 青 is therefore not simply a second meaning word to add to water. Its historical phonetic role is the important relationship here.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
清 is shared by standard traditional and simplified Chinese. 清潔 / 清洁 differs only in its second character. Within the pilot sound family, qīng in 清, qíng in 情, qíng in 晴, and qǐng in 請 / 请 are modern readings of different words; tone changes must remain attached to the correct character and word.
青 lacks the left-hand water component and has its own color and youth-related uses. Both commonly read qīng, so listening alone does not determine the spelling.
情 has 忄 and 晴 has 日. Their left components and senses differ from 清, even though all contain 青.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- tshjeng · 七情 反切 · #908
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 7231 · tshjeng = 梗開三平清清
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
Sources & reference
Sources & research
4 sourcesLocator & rights
形義通解, 略說 and 詳解; character entry · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 1 items
- Historical specimen images and their item-level dating have not been licensed or independently checked; follow the source link to inspect its evidence.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Old Chinese · reconstruction
- qīng
- *tsʰeŋ
MC tshjeng · GSR 0812i'
Baxter & Sagart 2014 · p.109. Model-specific reconstructions; * and uncertainty brackets are preserved.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- qīng,qìng 31637.110
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- qīng 0929.010
- Tongyong Guifan · 2013
- qīng 303.120
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- qīng(819)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- qīng粵cing1