刷 (shuā) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

刷

shuā[shua1]Tone 1

to brush, to scrub, to swipe

HSK 4

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to brush, to scrub, to swipe

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (尸) compact and slightly narrower, leaving ample space for the right component (刂) to stand tall and balanced.

1. Meaning

to brush, scrub, or scour

to paint or daubto swipe a card or passbookto scroll through a phone feedto grind or farm in video gamesto eliminate or remove from a competition

VerbNeutral / Colloquial#cleaning#actions#technology#modern slang

Sample Usage

刷牙
shuā yá
to brush teeth
刷卡
shuā kǎ
to swipe a card

2. Sound

/[ʂuä˥˥]/Tone: 55

刷

shuāshua1

¯(55)

=shuā

Initial Consonant

Type: Retroflex Fricative

Sounds like: sh sound with retroflex tongue curl

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near the hard palate, air passes through a narrow groove.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'wah' in English

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'wah'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to a musical note sustained at the top of your vocal range.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the retroflex initial 'sh-' with the dental/alveolar 's-'. Ensure your tongue curls back.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Imagine a high, flat drone note, holding your flat hand steady at eye level.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (尸) compact and slightly narrower, leaving ample space for the right component (刂) to stand tall and balanced.

4. Components

Radical 刂 · Knife Radical (knife, blade, cutting instrument)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 刂 (Indicates a tool or cutting/scraping action.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 刷 (original sound: shuā)

A corpse or shelter symbol (尸) combined with a tree/brush element and a knife (刂) on the right. Picture using a knife-like scraping tool to scrub clean.

尸 Framework / Body
巾 Cloth / Towel
刂 Knife / Scraping tool

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

3· Phonetic Root: 刷 (shuā)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from elements representing a cloth or brush structure and a cutting/scraping tool (knife) to denote cleaning and scrubbing.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to scraping or brushing clean; modern meanings have expanded to swiping cards, scrolling screens, and video game grinding.

The knife radical (刂) emphasizes the scraping motion involved in early cleaning tools.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use a cloth towel (巾) and a scraping tool/knife (刂) to BRUSH (shuā) away all the dirt on the walls.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

刷

shuāto brushBase character with knife and cloth elements.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

唰(shuā)

Has the mouth radical (口) on the left instead, used for swishing or rustling onomatopoeia sounds.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

每天早上我都要起床[___]牙。

Clue: shuā

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting to curl the tongue for the initial 'sh-', pronouncing it like an English 's', or forgetting the right-side knife radical when writing.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 刷 mean and how is it pronounced with tones?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to brush' or 'to swipe a card' (shuā)?

刷shuāto brush, to scrub, to swipe

Speed:

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