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HSK 3

干净

clean

adjectiveneutral1 episode
干
gān1st tone
净
jìng4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
gānjìng
Part of speech
adjective
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
11
Register
neutral
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 干净

干净 is written with 11 strokes (干: 3, 净: 8). The animation replays automatically.

What does 干净 mean?

干净 (gānjìng) is the everyday adjective for 'clean' — free of dirt, dust, or mess.

It describes physical surfaces (干净的桌子 'a clean table'), clothes, hands, rooms, dishes, food, even one's appearance. Used after verbs as a resultative complement, it means 'completely / thoroughly': 吃干净 ('eat it all up'), 洗干净 ('wash clean'), 擦干净 ('wipe clean'). Beyond hygiene, 干净 has a slight extended sense of 'pure / above-board' (做事干净利落 'doing things cleanly and efficiently'), but its main use is the literal one.

The opposite is 脏 (zāng, 'dirty'). One important pronunciation note: 干 here is read with first tone (gān), not fourth tone (gàn, 'to do' — as in 干活 'to work').

Character by character

干gāndry; clean (also gàn 'to do')
+
净jìngclean; pure
=
干净

Memory hook: 干 ('dry') + 净 ('pure') — dry and pure, with no dirt left. Two characters that both point to cleanness.

Hear 干净 in real episodes

干净 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

Jason Kelce Is Asking Fans to Send Their Pee to AI Data Centers. What He Actually Wants to Talk About Is Water.干净 spoken at natural speedmedium
Browse the full episode library

Example sentences

这个房间很干净。

Zhège fángjiān hěn gānjìng.

This room is very clean.

neutral

请把手洗干净。

Qǐng bǎ shǒu xǐ gānjìng.

Please wash your hands clean.

polite

他把饭吃得干干净净。

Tā bǎ fàn chī de gāngānjìngjìng.

He ate his meal up cleanly, every bite.

spoken

这家饭店的厨房不太干净。

Zhè jiā fàndiàn de chúfáng bú tài gānjìng.

This restaurant's kitchen isn't very clean.

neutral

你的衣服洗干净了吗？

Nǐ de yīfu xǐ gānjìng le ma?

Did you get your clothes clean?

spoken

Common phrases with 干净

很干净hěn gānjìngvery clean
干干净净gāngānjìngjìngspotlessly clean (reduplicated for emphasis)
洗干净xǐ gānjìngwash clean
擦干净cā gānjìngwipe clean
吃干净chī gānjìngeat it all up

Synonyms

清洁qīngjié

清洁 is more formal / written — used on cleaning products, in signage, and as a noun ('cleanliness, sanitation'). For everyday speech, always use 干净.

整洁zhěngjié

整洁 means 'tidy and clean' — emphasizes neat organization in addition to cleanliness. 干净 just means 'not dirty'; 整洁 means 'clean and well-arranged.'

Don't confuse 干净 with

干gàn

Same character, different reading: 干 (gàn) is the verb 'to do / work' (干活, 干嘛 'what are you doing'). 干净 (gānjìng) uses the first-tone reading and means 'clean.'

安静ānjìng

安静 means 'quiet' — about sound, not cleanliness. Both end in 静/净 but the characters and meanings differ. 房间很安静 'the room is quiet'; 房间很干净 'the room is clean.'

干燥gānzào

干燥 means 'dry' (about climate or skin), not 'clean.' Both start with 干 (gān, 'dry') but 干燥 stays in the literal 'dry' meaning, while 干净 has shifted to 'clean.'

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

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Acquire it by listening

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