刷 meaning and stroke order
A brush; to paint; to daub; to brush; to scrub
How to write 刷, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 刷
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- a brush
- to paint; to daub
- to brush; to scrub
- (fig.) to remove; to eliminate (from a contest); to fire (from a job)
- (onom.) swish; rustle
- to swipe (a card)
- to select
How 刷 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person bent over 尸 with a towel 巾.
Radical: 刂 (knife), shared by 71 characters on this site.
How to remember 刷
Picture a person bent over 尸 holding a towel 巾, scrubbing hard, with the knife 刂 on the right as the scraping edge. Bending down to scrub with a cloth is 刷 (shuā), to brush or clean.
刷 is used for brushing and scrubbing, but also for modern actions like swiping a card 刷卡 (shuākǎ) or refreshing a page 刷新 (shuāxīn). It also appears in 印刷 (yìnshuā), printing. Example: 我每天早上刷牙。(Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang shuā yá.) I brush my teeth every morning.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 刷 with 制 (zhì) or 刺 (cì), which also have 刂 on the right, so check for the 尸 and 巾 on the left. Also keep the order straight: 刷牙 (shuā yá) is the verb to brush teeth, while 牙刷 (yáshuā) is the noun toothbrush.
Common words with 刷
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 刷牙 | shuā yá | to brush one's teeth | HSK 4 |
| 牙刷 | yáshuā | toothbrush | HSK 4 |
| 刷子 | shuāzi | brush; scrub | HSK 4 |
| 印刷 | yìnshuā | to print; printing | HSK 5 |
| 刷新 | shuāxīn | to renovate; to refurbish | HSK 7-9 |
| 印刷术 | yìnshuāshù | printing; printing technology | HSK 7-9 |
| 粉刷 | fěnshuā | to paint; to whitewash | |
| 刷卡 | shuākǎ | to use a credit card (or swipe card, smart card etc) | |
| 洗刷 | xǐshuā | to wipe clean; to scrub | |
| 冲刷 | chōngshuā | to cleanse; to scrub |
刷 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 刷
Learning 刷 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 刷
How many strokes are in 刷?
刷 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 刷 mean?
刷 (shuā) means a brush; to paint; to daub; to brush; to scrub. A common word with it is 刷牙 (shuā yá), meaning "to brush one's teeth".
How do you pronounce 刷?
刷 is pronounced shuā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 刷?
The radical of 刷 is 刂, which carries the idea of "knife". Dictionaries list 刷 under this radical.
Is 刷 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 刷 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 刷 mean in internet slang like 刷手机 or 刷视频?
It means to keep scrolling or swiping through content. 刷手机 (shuā shǒujī) is to scroll on your phone, and 刷视频 (shuā shìpín) is to scroll through videos.
Is 刷 ever pronounced shuà?
Yes, but rarely. The reading shuà means to select, and it is mostly found in the dialect word 刷白 (shuàbái), pale white. In almost all everyday words it is shuā.