刷 (shuā) — (verb) to brush; to scrub; (verb) to paint; to whitewash; (verb, colloquial) to skip (class)
Definition
刷 covers brushing/scrubbing (刷牙) and painting a surface (刷墙). Unlike 画 ('draw/picture art'), 刷 is the physical action of coating a wall. The colloquial 刷课 means skip class, same as 旷课.
verb
to brushto scrubto paintto whitewash(verb, colloquial) to skip (class)
Examples
- 。Tā měi tiān qǐ chuáng hòu xiān shuā yá.He brushes his teeth first after getting up every day.
- 刷。Gē ge bǎ fáng jiān de qiáng shuā le yí biàn.My brother painted the walls of the room once over.
- 刷。Tā zuó tiān yòu shuā kè le.She skipped class again yesterday.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
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.
Grammar
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