Chinese word

扫描

Pronunciation

Pinyinsǎo miáo

Meaning

  • verbscan

Example

请把身份证放到扫描仪上扫描一下。qǐng bǎ shēn fèn zhèng fàng dào sǎo miáo yí shàng sǎo miáo yí xià

Please put your ID on the scanner and scan it.

Illustration for 扫描 (scan)

More examples

请把合同放好，扫描并保存为PDF。qǐng bǎ hé tóng fàng hǎo sǎo miáo bìng bǎo cún wèi PDF

Please place the contract properly, scan it, and save it as a PDF.

Core concept

Captures patterned information from a document, image, or code so a device can store or process it.

Common phrases

  • 扫描身份证sǎo miáo shēn fèn zhèng

    scan an ID card

  • 扫描合同sǎo miáo hé tóng

    scan a contract

  • 扫描照片sǎo miáo zhào piān

    scan a photo

Similar words

识别shí bié: Examine information to recognize its type, identity, or content.
读取dú qǔ: Take information out of stored data or a device and put it into a usable form.
拍照pāi zhào: Use a camera to record the appearance of a person or thing in a photo.
复印fù yìn: Copy a paper document onto another sheet with a machine.

Definition in Chinese

通过扫描仪、摄像头或相关软件对文字、图像或编码进行光学或电子读取，得到可存档或处理的数字信息。tōng guò sǎo miáo yí shè xiàng tóu huò xiāng guān ruǎn jiàn duì wén zì tú xiàng huò biān mǎ jìn xíng guāng xué huò diàn zi dú qǔ dé dào kě cún dàng huò chú lǐ de shù zì xìn xī

Word origin

扫描 (sǎomiáo, "scan") combines 扫 (sǎo, "sweep") and 描 (miáo, "trace or depict"), linking movement across a surface with making a record of what is there.

Usage tips

  • A code can be scanned from a phone screen as well as from paper or packaging, so this word is not limited to documents.

Other meanings

  • scan inverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 扫描器sǎo miáo qìscannernoun
  • 扫描软件sǎo miáo ruǎn jiànscanning softwarenoun

Word lists with this word