纯 (chún) — (adjective) pure, genuine, unadulterated; (adverb) purely, completely (used before verbs in set expressions like 纯属, 纯是)
Definition
纯 (chún) means 'pure, unmixed' — used for substances (纯水) or accents (口音不纯), and adverbially as 纯属/纯是 ('purely'). Use 单纯 for a naive person and 纯洁 for moral purity; 简单 means 'simple/not complicated'.
adjective
puregenuineunadulterated
adverb
purelycompletely (used before verbs in set expressions like 纯属, 纯是)
Examples
- 纯，。Zhè píng kuàng quán shuǐ hěn chún, méi yǒu rèn hé tiān jiā.This bottle of mineral water is pure, with no additives.
- 纯，。Tā de pǔ tōng huà bù chún, yì tīng jiù zhī dào shì nán fāng rén.His Mandarin isn't pure — you can tell he's from the south as soon as he speaks.
- ，。Zhè jiàn shì chún shǔ wù huì, nǐ bié fàng zài xīn shàng.This matter is purely a misunderstanding; don't take it to heart.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 純; 纯 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
屯
屯tún純chún
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 純 pairs 糸 (thread) with 屯 as a sound part; the simplified 纯 is not the form described.
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