清扫 (qīng sǎo) — to clean up, to sweep clean | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

清 + 扫 = sweep/clean with focus on a whole area or thorough job — stronger and broader than the everyday 打扫 ('to clean, sweep').

verb

to clean upto sweep clean

Examples

清扫。
Gōng rén men zhèng zài qīng sǎo jiē dào shàng de jī xuě.
The workers are clearing the snow from the streets.
清扫。
Měi cì bān jiā hòu dōu yào chè dǐ qīng sǎo yí biàn.
You need to do a thorough clean-up every time after moving.
清扫。
Qǐng bǎ fáng jiān qīng sǎo gān jìng zài tuì fáng.
Please clean the room before checking out.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

清 “clean” + 扫 “sweep” combine to mean cleaning up.

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.

氵青清

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

青

青qīng清qīng

Same sound today

清 has 氵 (water) on the left and 青 on the right to show its sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Cleaning & Chores

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