to wipe; to rub; to apply
HSK level
擦 (cā) is a verb meaning 'to wipe,' 'to rub,' or 'to apply (by rubbing).'
Written with the hand radical 扌, it covers a family of hand-and-surface actions: wiping a table or window clean (擦桌子), drying with a cloth (擦干), rubbing on lotion or ointment (擦药 / 擦护手霜), erasing a blackboard (擦黑板), and brushing lightly past something (擦过). It is neutral in register and extremely common in daily life.
The English–Chinese mismatch is that one verb 擦 spans 'wipe,' 'rub,' 'apply,' 'scrub,' and 'graze,' where English needs different verbs; the exact meaning comes from the object and any resultative complement. Add 干 for 'wipe dry,' 掉 for 'wipe away,' 破 for 'scrape and break the skin' (擦破).
请帮我擦一下桌子。
Qǐng bāng wǒ cā yíxià zhuōzi.
Please help me wipe the table.
spoken
用毛巾把手擦干。
Yòng máojīn bǎ shǒu cāgān.
Dry your hands with the towel.
neutral
他每天早上擦护肤霜。
Tā měitiān zǎoshang cā hùfūshuāng.
He puts on moisturizer every morning.
neutral
小心，别擦破了皮。
Xiǎoxīn, bié cāpò le pí.
Be careful, don't scrape your skin.
spoken
擦 is written with 17 strokes. Tap replay to watch each character drawn again.
抹 means to smear or spread something on a surface (抹黄油 spread butter) or to wipe. 擦 emphasizes rubbing to clean or dry, or applying by rubbing. 抹 leans toward spreading a layer.
揉 means to knead or rub with circular pressure (揉眼睛 rub one's eyes, 揉面 knead dough). 擦 is a wiping/rubbing across a surface, usually to clean.
察 (chá) means 'to observe / examine,' as in 观察 (observe) or 警察 (police). 擦 (cā) has the hand radical and means to wipe. Similar shape, different radical, sound, and meaning.
刷 means 'to brush / scrub' with a brush (刷牙 brush teeth, 刷墙 paint a wall). 擦 uses a cloth or hand to wipe, without a brush.
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