DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

一清二白

Mandarin · pinyin yī qīng èr bái

perfectly clean
blameless
unimpeachable (idiom)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
清: qīng · clear, pure, clean; peaceful
二: èr · two; twice
白: bái · white; pure, unblemished; bright

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–4–2 · yi1 qing1 er4 bai2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

一清二白 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗