每天成语
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窗明几净

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: chuāng míng jī jìng
  • English Translation: Bright windows and clean desks (spotless and tidy)
  • Idiom Composition: 「窗」（Window）＋「明」（Bright or clear）＋「几」（A small table or desk (specifically a low table used in ancient times)）＋「净」（Clean or spotless）
  • Meaning: A descriptive phrase used to praise a room that is exceptionally clean, bright, and well-organized. It suggests that the windows are clear enough to let in plenty of light and the furniture is free of dust.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「窗明几净」 contains the following nuances:

  • Luminosity and Purity: The idiom emphasizes not just the absence of dirt, but the presence of light. The 'bright' windows imply a refreshing, airy atmosphere that goes beyond basic tidiness.
  • Specific Scope: This term is strictly used for indoor settings like rooms, offices, or studies. It is never used to describe a person's physical appearance or abstract concepts like a 'clean' record.

3. Usage

「窗明几净」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • Living Environment: Used to praise a home or room that has been thoroughly cleaned and feels pleasant to be in.
    • Example:「经过妈妈的一番打扫，整个屋子变得窗明几净。」
      （After my mother finished cleaning, the whole house became bright and spotlessly clean.)
  • Work or Study Environment: Used to describe an office, classroom, or library that is well-maintained and conducive to productivity.
    • Example:「在这窗明几净的图书馆里学习，效率特别高。」
      （Studying in this bright and tidy library makes me feel very efficient.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 走进这家咖啡馆，窗明几净的环境让人感到非常放松。
    （Walking into this cafe, the bright and clean environment makes one feel very relaxed.）
  2. 新装修的办公室宽敞舒适，窗明几净。
    （The newly renovated office is spacious, comfortable, and spotless.）
  3. 保持教室窗明几净是每个学生的责任。
    （Keeping the classroom clean and tidy is the responsibility of every student.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • The character 几 (jī) in this idiom refers to a small, low table or side table used in ancient China, rather than the modern word for 'how many' (jǐ). It evokes the image of a traditional scholar's study.
  • The phrase can be traced back to the literature of the Song Dynasty (宋朝), specifically in the works of writers like Su Zhe (苏辙). It has long been the ideal standard for a scholar's workspace.
  • A common variation of this idiom is 明窗净几 (míng chuāng jìng jī), which uses the same characters in a different order but carries the exact same meaning.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

窗明几净 (chuāng míng jī jìng) describes an indoor environment that is bright, clean, and orderly. Beyond mere tidiness, it evokes a sense of comfort and intellectual clarity. It is commonly used to compliment the atmosphere of a home, office, or school.

Featured in the Chuken exam (Japan's Chinese test)Level 1

Idiom Essay

chuāng míng jī jìng
窗明几净
Bright Windows and Spotless Tables
lǎo老jiē shàng街上yǒu有yī jiā一家xiū biǎo diàn修表店，mén kǒu门口de的zhāo pái招牌yǐ jīng已经jiù旧dé得tuì褪le了sè色。

There is a watch repair shop on the old street, and the sign above its entrance has become so old that its colors have faded.

wǒ我měi cì每次lù guò路过，dōu都jué de觉得lǐ miàn里面yí dìng一定yòu又àn暗yòu又luàn乱。

Whenever I pass by, I imagine that the inside must be dark and messy.

bì jìng毕竟xiū修le了jǐ shí nián几十年shǒu biǎo手表，zhuō桌shàng上hái还bù dé不得duī mǎn堆满gè zhǒng各种gōng jù工具hé和líng jiàn零件？

After all, the owner has been repairing watches for decades, so shouldn’t the table be piled high with all kinds of tools and parts?

shàng zhōu上周，wǒ我dài带zhe着yī zhī一只tíng停le了de的jiù旧shǒu biǎo手表zǒu jìn走进qù去，cái才fā xiàn发现wán quán完全bú shì不是nà me那么huí shì回事。

Last week, I walked in with an old watch that had stopped, only to discover that it was completely different from what I had imagined.

yáng guāng阳光tòu guò透过bō lí玻璃chuāng窗zhào照jìn lái进来，chuāng tái窗台shàng上méi yǒu没有huī chén灰尘，zhuō miàn桌面cā擦dé得gān gān jìng jìng干干净净。

Sunlight streamed in through the glass window. There was no dust on the windowsill, and the tabletop had been wiped perfectly clean.

xiǎo xiǎo小小de的guì zi柜子lǐ里，gōng jù工具àn按dà xiǎo大小pái排hǎo好，lián连yī bǎ一把xiǎo小shuā zi刷子dōu都yǒu有gù dìng固定de的wèi zhì位置。

Inside the small cabinet, the tools were arranged by size, and even a small brush had its own fixed place.

zhěng jiān整间diàn店chuāng míng jī jìng窗明几净，hé和mén wài门外nà那tiáo条rè nào热闹、yōng jǐ拥挤de的lǎo jiē老街xíng chéng形成le了xiān míng鲜明de的duì bǐ对比。

The whole shop was bright and spotless, forming a sharp contrast with the lively, crowded old street outside.

diàn zhǔ店主shì是yī wèi一位liù shí duō六十多suì岁de的shī fù师傅。

The shop owner was a craftsman in his sixties.

tā他jiē guò接过shǒu biǎo手表，méi yǒu没有mǎ shàng马上chāi kāi拆开，ér shì而是xiān先xǐ洗le了shǒu手，zài在zhuō桌shàng上pù铺hǎo好yī kuài一块bái bù白布。

He took the watch, but did not open it right away. Instead, he washed his hands first and spread a white cloth on the table.

wǒ我rěn bú zhù忍不住wèn问：“nín您zhè lǐ这里měi tiān每天xiū修zhè me这么duō多biǎo表，zěn me怎么hái还néng能zhè me这么gān jìng干净？”

I could not help asking, “You repair so many watches here every day. How can you still keep the place so clean?”

tā他xiào笑zhe着shuō说：“yuè越shì是máng忙，yuè越bù néng不能luàn乱。nǐ你kàn看，zhè xiē这些líng jiàn零件，yǒu有de的bǐ比mǐ lì米粒hái还xiǎo小。yì diǎn一点huī chén灰尘diào掉jìn qù进去，biǎo表jiù就kě néng可能zǒu走dé得bù zhǔn不准。gōng jù工具yào shì要是suí shǒu随手luàn乱fàng放，guāng光zhǎo找dōng xī东西jiù就dé得làng fèi浪费bù shǎo不少shí jiān时间。”

He smiled and said, “The busier you are, the less you can afford to be disorganized. Look at these parts—some are even smaller than grains of rice. If a little dust gets inside, the watch may not keep accurate time. And if you put your tools down anywhere, you can waste a lot of time just looking for them.”

tā他shuō说zhe着，bǎ把shǒu biǎo手表hòu miàn后面de的gài zi盖子dǎ kāi打开，ràng让wǒ我kàn看lǐ miàn里面xì xiǎo细小de的chǐ lún齿轮。

As he spoke, he opened the back of the watch and showed me its tiny gears.

wǒ我zhè这cái才fā xiàn发现，yī zhī一只kàn qǐ lái看起来pǔ pǔ tōng tōng普普通通de的shǒu biǎo手表，nèi bù内部jìng rán竟然zhè me这么fù zá复杂。

Only then did I realize that an ordinary-looking watch could be so complicated inside.

xǔ duō许多xiǎo小líng jiàn零件bì xū必须hù xiāng互相pèi hé配合，cái néng才能ràng让zhǐ zhēn指针yī miǎo一秒yī miǎo一秒dì地wǎng qián往前zǒu走。

Many small parts have to work together to make the hands move forward second by second.

xiū hǎo修好yǐ hòu以后，shī fù师傅bǎ把gōng jù工具fàng放huí回yuán chù原处，yòu又cā擦le了yī biàn一遍zhuō zi桌子，cái才kāi shǐ开始xiū修xià yī zhī下一只biǎo表。

After repairing it, the craftsman returned the tools to their proper places and wiped the table once more before starting on the next watch.

zǒu chū走出diàn mén店门shí时，wǒ我yòu又huí tóu回头kàn看le了yī yǎn一眼nà那shàn扇míng liàng明亮de的chuāng窗。

As I walked out of the shop, I turned back to look at the bright window once again.

wǒ我zhōng yú终于míng bái明白，zhè这jiān间lǎo老diàn店de的zhěng jié整洁，bìng并bú shì不是wèi le为了gěi给kè rén客人liú xià留下hǎo好yìn xiàng印象，ér shì而是xiū biǎo修表zhè这mén门shǒu yì手艺de的yī bù fèn一部分。

At last, I understood that the cleanliness of this old shop was not meant merely to leave a good impression on customers; it was part of the craft of watch repair.

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