Fluentide
Fluentide for iOS is out — get the app
HSK 3

清楚

clear; to understand clearly

adjectiveneutral2 episodes
清
qīng1st tone
楚
chǔ3rd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
qīngchu
Part of speech
adjective
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
24
Register
neutral
In episodes
2

Stroke order for 清楚

清楚 is written with 24 strokes (清: 11, 楚: 13). The animation replays automatically.

What does 清楚 mean?

清楚 (qīngchu) is an adjective meaning 'clear' — used both for perception (a clear voice, a clear photo) and for understanding (to be clear about something in your mind).

Two things differ from English: first, 清楚 covers both 'clear to the senses' and 'clear in your head,' where English splits these into 'clear' vs. 'understand'; saying 我很清楚 means 'I understand it well,' not 'I am transparent.' Second, 清楚 frequently rides on a verb as a result complement: 听清楚 (hear clearly), 看清楚 (see clearly), 说清楚 (say clearly / spell it out).

The negated complement is 听不清楚 / 看不清楚 ('can't hear / see clearly'). The opposite is 模糊 (móhu, blurry / vague).

Note: Works in spoken and written contexts. Often used as a verb-like complement after 听 / 看 / 说 (听清楚 'hear clearly') — that pattern is more common in daily speech than the bare adjective.

Character by character

清qīngclear; pure (water radical)
+
楚chǔdistinct; neat (originally a thorny plant)
=
清楚

Memory hook: Clear water (清) makes things distinct (楚) — clear and easy to make out.

Hear 清楚 in real episodes

清楚 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

Gaudí Knew He Would Never See the Sagrada Família Finished. It Was Topped Out This Year, 100 Years After He Died.清楚 spoken at natural speedeasyMarmot Research Funding Was Cut, So the Professor Sold Photos on OnlyFans清楚 spoken at natural speedmedium
Browse the full episode library

Example sentences

你说慢一点，我听不清楚。

Nǐ shuō màn yìdiǎn, wǒ tīng bù qīngchu.

Speak a bit slower — I can't hear you clearly.

spoken

这张照片很清楚。

Zhè zhāng zhàopiàn hěn qīngchu.

This photo is very clear.

neutral

我不太清楚他在哪儿。

Wǒ bù tài qīngchu tā zài nǎr.

I'm not really sure where he is.

spoken

请你说清楚一点。

Qǐng nǐ shuō qīngchu yìdiǎn.

Please say it more clearly.

neutral, polite

老师把这个问题讲得很清楚。

Lǎoshī bǎ zhège wèntí jiǎng de hěn qīngchu.

The teacher explained this question very clearly.

neutral

Common phrases with 清楚

听清楚tīng qīngchuto hear clearly
看清楚kàn qīngchuto see clearly
说清楚shuō qīngchuto say clearly; to spell out
不清楚bù qīngchunot clear; not sure
弄清楚nòng qīngchuto figure out; to get clear about

Synonyms

明白míngbai

明白 emphasizes mental understanding ('I get it'); 清楚 can be physical clarity or mental clarity. After someone explains, 我明白了 and 我清楚了 are both fine, but for a clear photo you'd only say 清楚.

明确míngquè

明确 is more formal/written — 'explicit, definite.' Used for rules, requirements, answers. 清楚 is everyday speech.

Don't confuse 清楚 with

清qīng

Bare 清 means 'clear / pure' but is mostly used in compounds (清水 clear water, 清晨 early morning). For everyday 'clear,' use 清楚.

干净gānjìng

干净 is 'clean' (no dirt). 清楚 is 'clear' (easy to make out / understand). A clean window is 干净的窗户; a clear photo is 清楚的照片.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

存在existence打码to censor大幅sharply, by a large margin订阅to subscribe冬眠to hibernate对象subject, object of study急in a hurry记录to record建筑architecture经费funding连续continuous认出to recognise

Acquire it by listening

Meet 清楚 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

You just saw 清楚 in 2 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.