Chinese word

打扫

Pronunciation

Pinyindǎ sǎo

Meaning

  • verbclean

Example

打扫房间了吗？dá sǎo fáng jiān le ma

Have you cleaned the room?

Illustration for 打扫 (clean)

More examples

我每天早上都要打扫卫生。wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu yào dá sǎo wèi shēng

I have to clean up every morning.

Core concept

Clearing a living space of dirt and waste so that its surfaces and surroundings become neat.

Common phrases

  • 打扫卫生dá sǎo wèi shēng

    clean up

  • 打扫房间dá sǎo fáng jiān

    clean a room

  • 打扫地面dá sǎo dì miàn

    clean the floor

Similar words

收拾shōu shí: Tidy a messy space by gathering things and putting them in order.
整理zhéng lǐ: Put items or papers into a planned order or group.
清理qīng lǐ: Remove rubbish or unwanted items to clear a space.
清扫qīng sǎo: Use a broom or vacuum to gather and remove dust and dirt.

Definition in Chinese

用扫把、拖把或手等清除房间、地面和家具上的尘土、垃圾，使环境变得整洁。yòng sào bǎ tuō bǎ huò shǒu děng qīng chú fáng jiān dì miàn hé jiā jù shàng de chén tǔ lā jī shǐ huán jìng biàn de zhěng jié

Word origin

打扫 (dǎsǎo, "to clean") is built from 打 (dǎ, "to do") and 扫 (sǎo, "to sweep"), turning a basic sweeping motion into the broader activity of cleaning a place.

Usage tips

  • Chinese commonly places a result complement after 打扫 (dǎsǎo, "to clean") to show that the activity has produced a clean state, rather than merely describing the activity itself.

Other meanings

  • sweepverb

Opposites

  • 弄脏nòng zāngmake dirtyverb
  • 弄乱nòng luànmess upverb

Word lists with this word