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挥洒 (huī sǎ) — to sprinkle, to spray; (figurative, literary) to write or paint with natural ease and freedom

Definition

Literary verb pairing a physical sense ('sprinkle, spray water/ink') with the figurative 'pour out freely' (emotion, talent). The figurative sense is what learners at HSK 7 most often meet, usually in 挥洒汗水 / 笔墨 / 激情.

verb
to sprinkleto spray(figurative, literary) to write or paint with natural ease and freedom

Examples

  • 挥洒，。
    Tā pō mò huī sǎ, yì fú shān shuǐ huà hěn kuài jiù wán chéng le.
    He splashed ink freely and finished a landscape painting in no time.
  • 挥洒。
    Zuò jiā zài chuàng zuò shí huì bǎ qíng gǎn jìn qíng dì huī sǎ zài zhǐ shàng.
    When writing, an author will freely pour out their emotions onto the page.
  • 挥洒，。
    Yuán dīng yòng pēn hú huī sǎ qīng shuǐ, gěi huā cǎo jiāo shuǐ.
    The gardener used a watering can to spray clean water and water the flowers.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

挥huīwave
洒sǎsprinkle

'挥' (wave) and '洒' (sprinkle) combine to mean spray or write/paint freely.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 揮; 挥 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn揮huī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 揮 pairs 扌 (hand) with 軍 as a sound part; the simplified 挥 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 挥 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
西
西xī洒sǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

洒 combines 水, the water part, with 西, which gives the sound.

Open 洒 →
Appears in
Art & Fine Arts

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