透明 (tòu míng) literally combines 透 (tòu), meaning 'to penetrate' or 'to pass through', and 明 (míng), meaning 'bright' or 'clear'. Together, they describe something that allows light to pass through so that objects behind it can be seen distinctly — i.e., 'transparent' or 'clear'. It is most commonly used as an adjective before nouns (e.g., 透明的玻璃 — transparent glass) or after verbs like 是 or 变成 (e.g., 这块冰变成了透明的 — this ice became transparent).

The word applies primarily to physical materials (glass, plastic, water, ice) but extends metaphorically to concepts like transparency in communication or governance (e.g., 政府信息透明 — government information transparency). Unlike English 'clear', which can mean 'easy to understand', 透明 rarely describes abstract intelligibility — for that, use 明白 or 清楚. It emphasizes visual permeability and literal or figurative openness.