洗衣 (xǐ yī) — to wash clothes; to do laundry | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning 'to wash clothes / do laundry'. Usually followed by a noun like 机 (machine) or 店 (shop) — 洗衣机, 洗衣店 — rather than used alone.

verb

to wash clothesto do laundry

Examples

洗衣。
Wǒ měi tiān dōu yòng xǐ yī jī xǐ yī.
I use the washing machine to do laundry every day.
，。
Jīn tiān xǐ le sān cì yī fu, zhēn lèi.
I did laundry three times today — I'm really tired.
洗衣。
Wǒ xí guàn qù xǐ yī diàn xǐ yī.
I'm used to going to the laundromat to do laundry.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

衣yīclothes

“洗” gives wash and “衣” gives clothes, together meaning to wash clothes.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

先

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

洗 is built from 水 (water) and 先, which gives the character its sound.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 衣 comes from an outline of the chest and upper clothing.

Appears in

Cleaning & Chores

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