Meaning of 刷牙
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to brush one's teeth
How to use 刷牙
刷牙 is a verb-object phrase used for the daily habit of brushing your teeth. Because it is verb plus object, you can put words in the middle, as in 刷了牙 (shuā le yá). Example: 我每天早上刷牙。(Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang shuāyá.) I brush my teeth every morning.
刷 (shuā) means to brush and has the knife radical 刂 on the right, like a tool that scrapes things clean. 牙 (yá) means tooth, so 刷牙 is simply "brush teeth".
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 刷牙 (shuāyá, to brush teeth) and 牙刷 (yáshuā, toothbrush), which use the same two characters in reverse order. Also avoid saying 刷我的牙 for "brush my teeth". Chinese normally just says 刷牙 without a possessive.
刷牙 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
刷 shuā · a brush · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
牙 yá · tooth · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 刷牙.
| 牙刷 | yáshuā | toothbrush |
| 刷子 | shuāzi | brush; scrub |
| 印刷 | yìnshuā | to print; printing |
| 西班牙语 | Xībānyáyǔ | Spanish language |
| 牙齿 | yáchǐ | tooth; dental |
| 牙膏 | yágāo | toothpaste |
| 刷新 | shuāxīn | to renovate; to refurbish |
| 印刷术 | yìnshuāshù | printing; printing technology |
| 牙医 | yáyī | dentist |
| 粉刷 | fěnshuā | to paint; to whitewash |
| 假牙 | jiǎyá | false teeth; dentures |
| 以牙还牙 | yǐyáhuányá | a tooth for a tooth (retaliation) |
Questions about 刷牙
What does 刷牙 mean?
刷牙 (shuā yá) means "to brush one's teeth".
How do you write 刷牙?
刷牙 is made of 2 characters: 刷 (8 strokes), 牙 (4 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 刷牙 an HSK word?
Yes. 刷牙 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say "I already brushed my teeth" in Chinese?
Say 我已经刷牙了 (wǒ yǐjīng shuāyá le) or 我刷过牙了 (wǒ shuā guo yá le). The particle 了 or 过 goes after 刷 or at the end of the sentence, not after 牙 alone.
Is 刷 used for brushing other things besides teeth?
Yes. 刷 is a general verb for brushing or scrubbing, as in 刷鞋 (shuā xié, scrub shoes) and 刷碗 (shuā wǎn, wash dishes). It also appears in 印刷 (yìnshuā, to print) and in modern phrases like 刷卡 (shuā kǎ, swipe a card).