洁 (jié) — clean (bound morpheme, used in compounds)

洁 (jié) is a bound morpheme meaning 'clean' — it doesn't stand alone and only appears in compounds like 清洁, 整洁, and 洁白.

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.

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