擦
to wipe; to rub; to apply
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HSK level
- Pinyin
- cā
- Part of speech
- verb
- Level
- HSK 4
- Strokes
- 17
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 擦
擦 is written with 17 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 擦 mean?
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).
Memory hook: 扌 (hand) doing the action — your hand wipes and rubs the surface.
Hear 擦 in real episodes
擦 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
洗完头发，也不要很用力地擦。
After washing your hair, don't rub it too hard.
Dermatologists Debunk the Cold-Water Hair Rinse Myth: It Won't Boost Shine
Example sentences
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
Common phrases with 擦
Synonyms
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.
Don't confuse 擦 with
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.
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
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