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横扫 (héng sǎo) — to sweep across/over; to sweep away (obstacles, enemies, etc.)

Definition

Strong, often military or natural-force imagery: to sweep across or sweep away in one overwhelming motion (a storm, army, force). Colloquial 扫 alone is the everyday 'sweep'.

verb
to sweep across/overto sweep away (obstacles, enemies, etc.)

Examples

  • 横扫。
    Tā yòng sào zhou héng sǎo le dì bǎn.
    He swept the floor with a broom.
  • 横扫。
    Bào fēng yǔ héng sǎo le zhěng gè chéng shì.
    The storm swept across the entire city.
  • 横扫。
    Zhè zhī jūn duì héng sǎo le suǒ yǒu dí rén.
    This army swept away all enemies.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

横héngacross
扫sǎosweep

横扫 joins 横 across/sideways and 扫 sweep, meaning to sweep across a wide area.

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 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

Open 横 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 掃; 扫 is its simplified writing.

The form 掃 draws a hand with a broomstick, the thing used for sweeping.

Open 扫 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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