简洁明了 (jiǎn jié míng le) — concise and clear; succinct and to the point

Definition

idiom

concise and clearsuccinct and to the point

简洁明了，。
Tā de fā yán jiǎn jié míng le, dà jiā yì tīng jiù míng bai le.
His speech was concise and clear; everyone understood it as soon as they heard it.
简洁明了，。
Zhè fèn bào gào xiě dé jiǎn jié míng le, méi yǒu duō yú de fèi huà.
This report is written concisely and clearly, with no unnecessary nonsense.
简洁明了。
Lǎo shī xī wàng wǒ men huí dá wèn tí yào jiǎn jié míng le.
The teacher hopes that when we answer questions, we should be concise and clear.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 簡; 简 is its simplified writing.

竹間簡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

間

閒xián簡jiǎn

Same sound today

In the traditional form 簡, 竹 (bamboo) is paired with 間 (also written 閒) as a sound part; the simplified 简 is a later shorthand.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 潔; 洁 is its simplified writing.

氵絜潔

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

絜

絜jié潔jié

Same sound today

The traditional form 潔 pairs 氵, a water part, with 絜, which gives the sound; the simplified 洁 is a later abbreviation.

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

日月明

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

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

了 was once drawn to show a baby with no arms; some old comments say it showed crossed or tangled legs.