清理

• Pinyin: qīng lǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 清 = 氵+ 青, clear; 理 = 王 (jade) + 里, to organize/manage

Meaning

To clean up; to clear out; to sort out. Removing unwanted items or organizing.

Used for physical spaces (清理房间 clean room), digital (清理垃圾文件 clear junk files), and abstract (清理思路 sort out thoughts). Often implies thorough organization.

Examples

1. 周末我要清理一下房间里的杂物。 I need to clean up the clutter in my room this weekend.
2. 公司正在清理过期的档案。 The company is clearing out expired files.
3. 他花了一整天清理电脑里的垃圾文件。 He spent a whole day clearing junk files from his computer.

Usage Guide

Context: cleaning, organization, digital

Tone: practical

Do Say

• 该清理一下衣柜了。(It's time to clean out the closet.)
• 我需要清理一下思路。(I need to sort out my thoughts.)

Don't Say

• 清理你的脸。(Use 洗脸 for washing face — 清理 is for organizing/removing things)

Origin & History

清 (qīng, clear) + 理 (lǐ, to organize). To make clear and organized.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal