Chinese idiom · 成语
一尘不染
Meaning
Not stained by a speck of dust; spotlessly clean, or morally untainted.
Character by character
Origin and story
religious metaphorBuddhist language uses 'dust' for the sensory and mental objects that can entangle attention. A related image appears in the Jingde Chuandeng Lu’s account of Hongren's disciples. Shenxiu likens the mind to a mirror needing continual dusting; Huineng’s answering verse questions the very basis on which dust could settle. This is a transmitted religious narrative about understanding and practice, not a household-cleaning anecdote.
The four-character idiom is not the exact wording of those verses. It condenses the broader image of freedom from defilement, and later writers use it for integrity untouched by corrupting influence. Everyday speech also applies it quite literally to spotless rooms or objects. Those physical and moral meanings should both remain available.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
她把厨房收拾得一尘不染，连抽屉里的角落都擦过了。
She made the kitchen spotless, even wiping the corners inside the drawers.
For literal spotlessness or figurative moral purity; choose the sense from context.