清 — pure, clean, clear

きよ清 pure

U+6E05 Unicode hex codepoint — a unique identifier for this character in the Unicode standard. JLPT 2 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test level. N5 is beginner, N1 is the most advanced. This kanji appears at the 2 level. Grade 4 Japanese school grade level in which this kanji is taught. Grade 1 is first year of elementary school. 11 strokes Freq #705 Frequency rank among the ~2,500 most common kanji in Japanese newspapers. Lower number = more common. Heisig #1537 Index in James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji" — a popular textbook that teaches kanji through mnemonics and stories.

Meanings

pure
clean
clear

word

きよ kiyo Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).

清(きよ) い kiyoi clear

せい sei On'yomi On'yomi (音読み) — the Sino-Japanese reading, derived from Chinese pronunciation. Most commonly used in compound words (jukugo).

清(せい) sei pure

Jukujikun Jukujikun Jukujikun (熟字訓) — special readings where the pronunciation applies to the whole compound word rather than individual kanji. The reading cannot be split per character.

清水(しみず) shimizu clear water

Jukujikun Jukujikun Jukujikun (熟字訓) — special readings where the pronunciation applies to the whole compound word rather than individual kanji. The reading cannot be split per character.

清水(しみず) shimizu clear water

Stroke order

Stroke data from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Components

Kangxi Radical

水

#85

water

Building Blocks

みず氵 water #85

あお青 blue #174

Phono-semantic compound (形声). 氵 (water radical, from 水) gives the meaning domain — purity, clarity. 青 (sei, blue-green) provides both the sound and a connotation of freshness. Clean water is clear and blue-green.

Visually similar

は晴 clear up しず静 quiet なさ情 feeling こ請 request

Meanings

word

きよ kiyo Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).

せい sei On'yomi On'yomi (音読み) — the Sino-Japanese reading, derived from Chinese pronunciation. Most commonly used in compound words (jukugo).

Jukujikun Jukujikun Jukujikun (熟字訓) — special readings where the pronunciation applies to the whole compound word rather than individual kanji. The reading cannot be split per character.

Jukujikun Jukujikun Jukujikun (熟字訓) — special readings where the pronunciation applies to the whole compound word rather than individual kanji. The reading cannot be split per character.

Stroke order

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