Chinese word

扫除

Pronunciation

Pinyinsǎo chú

Meaning

  • verbclean up

Example

我今天要把房间扫除一下。wǒ jīn tiān yào bǎ fáng jiān sǎo chú yí xià

I need to clean up the room today.

Illustration for 扫除 (clean up)

More examples

请把桌子上的灰尘扫除干净。qǐng bǎ zhuō zi shàng de huī chén sǎo chú gān jìng

Please clean the dust off the table.

Core concept

A sweeping action that leaves a place or situation free of whatever blocks, dirties, or harms it.

Common phrases

  • 扫除灰尘sǎo chú huī chén

    remove dust

  • 扫除垃圾sǎo chú lā jī

    remove garbage

  • 扫除杂物sǎo chú zá wù

    clear away clutter

Similar words

打扫dá sǎo: Cleans floors or rooms by brushing or wiping away dirt.
清理qīng lǐ: Sorts through clutter, removes unwanted items, and leaves things orderly.
收拾shōu shí: Puts scattered things away and makes a place tidy.
清除qīng chú: Removes unwanted things or obstacles completely.

Definition in Chinese

用工具或手把尘土、杂物等一并去掉，也可引申为清除障碍或不良事物。yòng gōng jù huò shóu bǎ chén tǔ zá wù děng yí bìng qù diào yě kě yǐn shēn wèi qīng chú zhàng ài huò bù liáng shì wù

Word origin

扫除 (sǎochú, "clean up") is formed from 扫 (sǎo, "sweep") + 除 (chú, "remove"), so its literal image of sweeping something away also supports its wider abstract use.

Usage tips

  • In everyday room-cleaning requests, this verb can sound more deliberate than a casual household description, while its use for eliminating obstacles gives it a useful wider range.

Other meanings

  • removeverb
  • wipe outverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word