净

• Pinyin: jìng
• Hanzi breakdown: 净 = 冫(ice) + 争 (compete) — simplified from 淨 with 氵(water)

Meaning

Only; nothing but; purely. As an adjective: clean, net (weight/profit).

As an adverb, 净 expresses that something happens exclusively or repeatedly, often with a slightly critical or exasperated tone. As an adjective, it means clean or pure. In business contexts, it refers to net amounts after deductions. Common in colloquial complaints about repeated behaviors.

Examples

1. 你怎么净说些没用的话？ Why do you keep saying useless things?
2. 他净利润达到了五百万，比去年增长了三成。 His net profit reached five million, a thirty percent increase from last year.
3. 最近净加班，连周末都没休息。 Lately it's been nothing but overtime; I couldn't even rest on the weekend.

Usage Guide

Context: complaints, business, daily speech

Tone: critical

Do Say

• 他净惹麻烦。(He does nothing but cause trouble.)
• 净重五公斤。(Net weight is five kilograms.)

Don't Say

• 这水很净。(Use 干净 for 'clean' — 净 alone sounds incomplete in this context)

Origin & History

Originally written 淨, depicting water cleansing something. The meaning of 'clean' extended to 'pure' and then to 'only' or 'nothing but' in colloquial usage.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal