净 meaning and stroke order
Clean; completely; only
How to write 净, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 净
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- clean
- completely
- only
- net (income, exports etc)
- (Chinese opera) painted face male role
- variant of 淨|净[jing4]
How 净 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
冫 gives the meaning and 争 hints at the sound.
Radical: 冫 (ice), shared by 26 characters on this site.
How to remember 净
净 is pictophonetic: the left part 冫 relates to water, and 争 (zhēng) on the right gives a hint of the sound. Picture water washing something until it is clean.
净 most often appears in 干净 (gānjìng, clean), one of the first words learners need. On its own it can mean "only" or "completely" in speech, and "net" in money contexts. Example: 房间很干净。(Fángjiān hěn gānjìng.) The room is very clean.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side with three dots 氵 because the meaning is about water, but 净 uses two dots 冫. Also, in 干净 the 净 is often said with a light, neutral tone in everyday speech, but its full tone is fourth tone jìng.
Common words with 净
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 干净 | gānjìng | clean; neat | HSK 1 |
| 纯净水 | chúnjìngshuǐ | purified water | HSK 4 |
| 净化 | jìnghuà | to purify | HSK 7-9 |
| 一干二净 | yīgān-èrjìng | thoroughly (idiom); completely | HSK 7-9 |
| 洁净 | jiéjìng | clean; to cleanse | HSK 7-9 |
| 纯净 | chúnjìng | pure; clean | |
| 清净 | qīngjìng | peaceful; quiet | |
| 干净利落 | gānjìnglìluo | squeaky clean; neat and tidy | |
| 洗净 | xǐjìng | to wash clean |
净 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 净
How many strokes are in 净?
净 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 净 mean?
净 (jìng) means clean; completely; only. A common word with it is 干净 (gānjìng), meaning "clean; neat".
How do you pronounce 净?
净 is pronounced jìng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 净?
The radical of 净 is 冫, which carries the idea of "ice". Dictionaries list 净 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 净?
The traditional form of 净 is 凈 and 淨. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 净 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 净 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 净 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How is 净 used to mean "only" or "nothing but"?
In casual speech 净 can come before a verb to mean "always" or "only", often with a complaining tone. For example, 他净说废话 (tā jìng shuō fèihuà) means "He talks nothing but nonsense."
What does 净 mean in money words like net income?
净 can mean "net", the amount left after deductions. 净收入 (jìng shōurù) is net income, and 净重 (jìngzhòng) is net weight.