一尘不染 (yī chén bù rǎn) — spotless, extremely clean (of a place); incorruptible, morally pure (of a person)

Definition

Literally 'not a speck of dust': a set idiom used either for a spotlessly clean place or, figuratively, for a morally pure, incorruptible person.

idiom
spotlessextremely clean (of a place)incorruptiblemorally pure (of a person)

Examples

  • 一尘不染
    Tā bǎ chú fáng cā dé yī chén bù rǎn, xiàng xīn de yí yàng.
    She wiped the kitchen spotless, like new.
  • 一尘不染
    Zhè wèi guān yuán yì shēng yī chén bù rǎn, shēn shòu rén mín ài dài.
    This official was incorruptible all his life and deeply loved by the people.
  • 一尘不染
    Tā de bàn gōng shì suī rán bú dà, dàn yī chén bù rǎn.
    His office is small but spotless.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 尘, 小 (small) sits above 土 (earth), giving the idea of tiny bits of earth.

Open 尘 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

染 combines 氵 (water), 九 (hook), and 木 (tree): something hung on a hook from a tree into water to dye it.

Open 染 →

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