整齐 (zhěng qí) — neat, tidy, orderly | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Describes things arranged in a clean, even, orderly line or pattern (rows of people, books, plants). 整洁 focuses on being clean as well, while 整齐 is about arrangement and uniformity.

adjective

neattidyorderly

Examples

整齐。
Tā de fáng jiān hěn zhěng qí.
His room is very tidy.
整齐。
Tā bǎ yī fu fàng dé hěn zhěng qí.
She puts the clothes away very neatly.
整齐。
Huā yuán lǐ de huā zhǒng dé hěn zhěng qí.
The flowers in the garden are planted very neatly.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

整zhěngorderly

“整” and “齐” both convey order and evenness, so together they mean “neat and orderly.”

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

敕正整

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

正

正zhèng整zhěng

Same sound today

整 pairs 敕 as the meaning side with 正 as the sound side.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 齊; 齐 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 齊 pictures multiple fruits or thorns neatly arranged; the simplified 齐 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Order & Arrangement

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