刷刷 (shuā shuā) — (onomatopoeia) sound of brushing, sweeping, or…

Definition

Onomatopoeia imitating the light, rapid sound of brushing, sweeping, rustling, or swishing. Often reduplicated as 刷刷 and used with 的 to modify a following noun like 声音.

onomatopoeia

sound of brushingsweepingor rustling

Examples

刷刷，。
Chuāng wài chuán lái shuā shuā de shēng yīn, yuán lái shì fēng zài chuī shù yè.
From outside came the sound of rustling; it was the wind blowing the leaves.
刷刷，。
Tā shuā shuā dì xiě zhe xìn, hěn kuài jiù xiě wán le.
He wrote the letter with a swishing sound and finished quickly.
刷刷，。
Yǔ shuā shuā dì xià zhe, dǎ zài chuāng hu shàng.
The rain was falling with a swishing sound, hitting the window.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

刷shuābrush

刷 brushing is repeated to suggest a brushing, sweeping, or rustling sound.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刀刀dāoknife

Sound part声符shēngfú

㕞

㕞㕞刷shuā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刷 uses 刀, a knife, and pairs it with 㕞 as a sound component.

Open 刷 →