刷 shuā brush
brush; to scrub; to swipe; to scroll
How to remember 刷: 尸 corpse + 巾 towel + 刂 knife = brush. Dressed up as a corpse for Halloween, the teenager wipes off fake blood with a towel, drops his rubber knife and grabs a makeup brush.
Component breakdown
刷 = 𡰯 + 刂 knife
- 𡰯
- 尸 corpse
- 巾 towel
- 刂 knife
Dressed up as a corpse for Halloween, the teenager wipes off fake blood with a towel, drops his rubber knife and grabs a makeup brush.
How it came to be
A body bent over with a cloth under it and a knife beside. Somebody scrubbing at a surface hard enough to take the top off it: the blade is there to say how hard.
How it is used
- A brush, and the verb to brush/scrub: 刷牙 (shuā yá) brush teeth, 牙刷 (yáshuā) toothbrush.
- Modern 'swipe/scroll': 刷卡 (shuā kǎ) swipe a card, 刷手机 (shuā shǒujī) scroll your phone, 刷视频 (shuā shìpín) scroll videos.
- 刷新 (shuāxīn) to refresh (a page) or break (a record); 印刷 (yìnshuā) to print (mass printing).
Characters built with 刷
Words with 刷
Example sentences
- 我每天都刷牙。 Wǒ měi tiān dōu shuāyá.I brush my teeth every day.
- 我在挤牙膏准备刷牙。 Wǒ zài jǐ yágāo zhǔnbèi shuāyá.I am squeezing toothpaste in preparation to brush my teeth.
- 小明盗刷了我的信用卡。 Xiǎo Míng dàoshuā le wǒde xìnyòngkǎ.Xiao Ming fraudulently used my credit card.