纯洁 (chún jié) — (adjective) pure, clean (in quality, morality, or emotion); (verb) to purify, to cleanse

Definition

纯洁 (chúnjié) is the adjective 'pure' in a moral or emotional sense (a pure heart, friendship). Compare 纯粹 (pure/unadulterated, often about things or as adverb) and 净化 (verb, to purify).

adjective
pureclean (in quality, morality, or emotion)
verb
to purifyto cleanse

Examples

  • 纯洁。
    Tā de xiào róng chún jié ér zhēn chéng.
    Her smile is pure and sincere.
  • 纯洁，。
    Zhè duàn yǒu yì fēi cháng chún jié, méi yǒu rèn hé lì yì guān xì.
    This friendship is very pure, without any self-interest.
  • 纯洁。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài nǔ lì chún jié shì chǎng huán jìng.
    The government is working hard to purify the market environment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

纯chúnpure
洁jiéclean

纯 and 洁 both mean clean or pure, so together they describe moral or emotional purity.

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 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.

Open 纯 →

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.

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.

Open 洁 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & TraitsGood & Bad

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