擦掉 (cā diào) — to wipe off, to erase, to rub out | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

擦掉 (cā diào) means to remove something by rubbing or wiping — physical marks, stains, or writing. It's a verb-complement construction: 擦 does the action, 掉 signals successful removal; combine with potential 得 to ask 'can it be removed?' (擦得掉吗?).

verb

to wipe offto eraseto rub out

Examples

擦掉。
Qǐng bǎ hēi bǎn shàng de zì cā diào.
Please erase the words on the blackboard.
？
Zhè ge wū zì cā dé diào ma?
Can this stain be wiped off?
擦掉。
Tā yòng xiàng pí bǎ qiān bǐ zì cā diào le.
He erased the pencil marks with an eraser.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

擦 means wipe, 掉 means off or away, so the whole means to wipe something off.

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.

扌察擦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

察

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 is the hand, showing that 擦 is an action done with the hand, such as wiping or scrubbing; the right part 察 gives the sound.

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

扌卓掉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

卓

卓zhuó掉diào

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

掉 is built from 扌 (a hand) and 卓, which gives the pronunciation.

Appears in

Cleaning & Chores

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