清除 (qīng chú) — to clear away; to eliminate; to get rid of | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

清除 emphasizes making something completely gone (toxins, snow, files). 清理 focuses on tidying or sorting out a space; 破除 targets abstract obstacles like superstition.

verb

to clear awayto eliminateto get rid of

Easily confused

消除xiāo chúlook-aliketo eliminate, to remove

Examples

清除。
Wǒ men xū yào qīng chú zhè xiē jiù wén jiàn.
We need to clear away these old files.
清除。
Zhè zhǒng yào kě yǐ qīng chú tǐ nèi de dú sù.
This medicine can eliminate toxins in the body.
清除。
Tā men zhèng zài qīng chú dào lù shang de jī xuě.
They are clearing the snow from the road.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

清 means clean and 除 means remove, so the word combines two parallel actions of cleaning and removing.

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.

氵青清

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

青

青qīng清qīng

Same sound today

清 has 氵 (water) on the left and 青 on the right to show its sound.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

余yú除chú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Cleaning & Chores 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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