擦屁股 (cā pì gǔ) — (literally) to wipe one's bottom after defecating; (figuratively) to clean up a mess or solve a problem caused by someone else

Definition

Literally 'to wipe one's bottom', but in adult usage it almost always means cleaning up a mess — typically someone else's — that you did not make. Carries a slightly accusatory tone, blaming the mess-maker.

verb
(literally) to wipe one's bottom after defecating(figuratively) to clean up a mess or solve a problem caused by someone else

Examples

  • 擦屁股。
    Zì jǐ rě de má fan zì jǐ cā pì gǔ.
    Clean up your own mess.
  • ，。
    Tā bāng tóng shì cā le pì gu, zì jǐ què āi le pī píng.
    He cleaned up a colleague's mess but got criticized himself.
  • ，擦屁股。
    Hái zi tài xiǎo, hái bú huì zì jǐ cā pì gǔ.
    The child is too young to wipe himself after pooping.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

擦cāwipe
屁股buttocks
屁pìrear end股gǔthigh
联合Side by side

擦 means wipe and 屁股 means buttocks, so the action is literally wiping after defecation.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
察
察chá擦cā
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.

Open 擦 →

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
尸尸shībody
Sound part声符shēngfú
比
比bǐ屁pì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屁 pairs 尸, a body-related mark, with 比, which gives its sound.

Open 屁 →

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

In 股, the left 肉 marks the body. The right side, now written 殳, comes from 夃, an old form for thigh, and gives the sound.

Open 股 →
Appears in
Hygiene & Grooming

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