清一色 (qīng yī sè) — (noun) in mahjong, a hand composed entirely of tiles of a single suit; (noun) (figurative) a homogeneous group; something consisting entirely of one kind

Definition

A mahjong term for a hand of one suit, now commonly used figuratively to mean an entire group made up of the same kind (people, background, etc.).

noun
in mahjong, a hand composed entirely of tiles of a single suit(figurative) a homogeneous groupsomething consisting entirely of one kind

Examples

  • 清一色，。
    Tā dǎ chū le yì shǒu qīng yī sè, yíng le zhè yì jú.
    He played a hand all of one suit and won this round.
  • 清一色。
    Zhè zhī duì wu shì qīng yī sè de nián qīng rén.
    This team is uniformly made up of young people.
  • 清一色。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī zhī zhāo qīng yī sè de míng xiào bì yè shēng.
    This company only recruits graduates from top schools — all from elite universities.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

清qīngpure/entirely
一色one color
一yīone色sècolor
偏正Modifier + head

清 adds the sense of pure or entirely, and 一色 means one color, so all are of one kind.

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.

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.

Open 清 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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

  • 爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Open 色 →

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