拼音
- xǐ (third tone, dipping)
to wash, to bathe; to rinse away; to develop (photographs)
字形拆解
Ideographic description
⿰氵先The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- 氵meaning partno entry yetThe water radical: three droplets of the stream 水.
- 先sound partno entry yet先 xiān for the sound; on its own it means "first, in advance".
Mnemonic
Water 氵 with 先 for the sound. The Shuowen gives the original sense as washing the feet, and 先 is doing no more than supplying the sound. Everyday: 洗手, 洗衣服, 洗澡 to take a bath, 洗碗 to do the dishes, and 洗照片 to have photographs developed.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.