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澄清: 「形」(水)清澈。 「动」使清楚;弄明白。

In revising the word 澄清, I found multiple examples on YouDao where it means something along the lines of 解决 (to resolve [a problem]), such as:

这就澄清了问题
今晚乔布斯彻底地澄清了这个问题
澄清了几个重要的问题

However, I've checked a few dictionaries (such as the above), and it doesn't list a definition to the effect of 解决. So...

Question: Does 澄清 ("to clarify") also mean 解决 ("to resolve" [a problem])?

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    As explained, 澄清 is to clear up muddy water/things to allow for ease of looking into the content it contains, which could be helpful in solving problems (解决問題), but not necessarily works at all times.
    – r13
    Nov 12, 2022 at 23:34

3 Answers 3

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Question: Does 澄清 ("to clarify") also mean 解决 ("to resolve" [a problem])?

No. To clarify something doesn't mean resolving a problem

We do not clarify problems, we clarify confusions like we clear muddy water

Both 澄 and 清 have the meaning of "clear"

澄清 ("to make clear" --> "to clarify") is the opposite of 混淆 ("to make muddy" --> "to confuse")

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解 in 解决 has the meaning of " to untie". Solving a problem is like untying a knot-- knot is a metaphor for the problem, which needed to be untied/ solved

Describe a problem in detail doesn't solve the problem itself

澄清: 「形」(水)清澈

We can use 清澄 instead of 澄清 as an adjective that describes the clearness of water. but we can't use 清澄 as a verb

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Clarification would precede a solution. To solve a problem, you must first understand what the problem is.

这个问题澄清了。
That's clarified the problem.

现在我们来解决这个问题。
Now let's solve the problem.

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No, except for very few situations, the word 澄清 and 解决 cannot be substituted for each other. (Very few cases are considered to enlarge the usage informally. Since, in a sense, 'solving' a question certainly includes 'clarifying' a question, everything does have the potential possibility to be 'solved' 解决, right?)

But semantically, they have distinct differences. The word 澄清 emphasizes through statements or explanations, the unknown truth or misunderstanding was clear, just like people usually say, 'are we clear?', 'we clear'. Until now, we hadn't moved to do anything, nor was there something we needed to do.

On the other hand, people use the word 解决 in the circumstances like 'conquering the difficulty', 'solving trouble', etc., which emphasizes exerting strength, efforts or methods and getting good results.

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