扫除

掃除

sǎochú

verb HSK 7-9 #20,329

Meanings

1 to clean up; to sweep away
2 to eliminate; to eradicate

Characters

to remove; to eliminate

Literally 'to sweep away and remove' — thorough cleaning or elimination.

Examples

过年前要大扫除。

Guònián qián yào dàsǎochú.

Before New Year, you do a big cleanup.

我们要扫除一切障碍。

Wǒmen yào sǎochú yíqiè zhàng'ài.

We must eliminate all obstacles.

Tips

culture

大扫除 (dà sǎochú, big cleanup) is a Chinese New Year tradition — families thoroughly clean their homes before the holiday to sweep away bad luck and make room for good fortune.

Stroke Order

扫 sǎo

除 chú