Chinese word

刷

Pronunciation

Pinyinshuā

Meaning

  • verbbrush

Example

你每天都刷牙吗？nǐ měi tiān dōu shuā yá ma

Do you brush your teeth every day?

Illustration for 刷 (brush)

More examples

他在商店里用手机刷卡付了钱。tā zài shāng diàn lǐ yòng shǒu jī shuā kǎ fù le qián

He used his phone to pay by card at the store.

Core concept

A series of quick strokes makes contact with a surface and leaves it in a new state.

Common phrases

  • 刷牙shuā yá

    brush one's teeth

  • 刷卡shuā kǎ

    pay by card

  • 刷新shuā xīn

    update

Similar words

洗xǐ: Washing a surface with water or cleaning liquid removes dirt.
擦cā: Wiping a surface with a hand or cloth removes dirt.
磨mó: Firm rubbing makes a surface smooth or shiny.
刮guā: Scraping a surface with a blade or flat tool removes dirt or stuck-on material.

Definition in Chinese

用手或工具在物体表面反复擦动，以去除污垢或改变表面状态，并引申为短时间内快速重复地进行某种操作。yòng shǒu huò gōng jù zài wù tǐ biǎo miàn fǎn fù cā dòng yǐ qù chú wū gòu huò gǎi biàn biǎo miàn zhuàng tài bìng yǐn shēn wèi duǎn shí jiān nèi kuài sù chóng fù dì jìn xíng móu zhǒng cāo zuò

Word origin

刷 (shuā, "brush") connects the concrete motion of brushing back and forth with newer uses for rapidly passing over a card or refreshing screen content.

Usage tips

  • In casual online speech, this verb can describe repeatedly checking a feed, so it often appears with time or frequency words rather than describing one deliberate reading.

Other meanings

  • swipeverb
  • pay by cardverb
  • updateverb

Related words

Word lists with this word