洁 meaning and stroke order
Clean, pure; to purify, to cleanse
How to write 洁, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 洁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- clean
How 洁 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 吉 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 洁
Water 氵 on the left washes things clean, and 吉 (jí, lucky) on the right gives the sound. Think of it this way: being washed with water is a lucky, clean feeling.
洁 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in two-character words like 清洁 (qīngjié), 整洁 (zhěngjié) and 纯洁 (chúnjié). Example: 房间很整洁。(Fángjiān hěn zhěngjié.) The room is very tidy.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 洁 (jié) with 结 (jié, to tie, to form). They share the sound and the 吉 part, but 结 has the silk radical 纟 instead of water 氵.
Common words with 洁
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 清洁 | qīngjié | clean; to clean | HSK 6 |
| 清洁工 | qīngjiégōng | cleaner; janitor | HSK 6 |
| 纯洁 | chúnjié | pure; clean and honest | HSK 7-9 |
| 整洁 | zhěngjié | neatly; tidy | HSK 7-9 |
| 简洁 | jiǎnjié | concise; succinct | HSK 7-9 |
| 洁净 | jiéjìng | clean; to cleanse | HSK 7-9 |
| 廉洁 | liánjié | incorruptible; unbribable; honest | HSK 7-9 |
| 圣洁 | shèngjié | pure and holy | |
| 贞洁 | zhēnjié | chastity | |
| 清洁剂 | qīngjiéjì | detergent; cleaning solution | |
| 洁癖 | jiépǐ | mysophobia; obsession with cleanliness | |
| 洁白 | jiébái | spotlessly white; pure white |
洁 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 洁
How many strokes are in 洁?
洁 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 洁 mean?
洁 (jié) means clean, pure; to purify, to cleanse. A common word with it is 清洁 (qīngjié), meaning "clean; to clean".
How do you pronounce 洁?
洁 is pronounced jié, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 洁?
The radical of 洁 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 洁 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 洁?
The traditional form of 洁 is 潔. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 洁 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 洁 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 洁 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 干净 and 清洁?
干净 (gānjìng) is the everyday word for clean and is used most in speech. 清洁 (qīngjié) sounds more formal and often appears in signs, products and jobs, like 清洁工 (qīngjiégōng), a cleaner.
Can 洁 describe a person's character, not just physical cleanliness?
Yes. 纯洁 (chúnjié) means pure or innocent, and 廉洁 (liánjié) describes an official who does not take bribes. In these words 洁 means morally clean.