扫(sǎo)

HSK 46 strokesTrad. 掃
Readingssǎosào

to sweep (with a brush or broom)

Print a 扫 worksheet PDFPractice writing 扫

Stroke order animation

Character information

Pinyin
sǎo / sào
Meaning
to sweep (with a brush or broom); to sweep away; to wipe out; to get rid of; to sweep (one's eyes etc) over; to scan
Strokes
6
HSK level
HSK 4
Traditional
掃

Origin & structure

Where 扫 comes from and how its parts fit together.

Ideograph⿰扌彐

Simplified form of 掃; to use 扌 a broom 帚; 帚 also provides the pronunciation

A combination of parts whose meanings add up to the whole.

Made of

扌shǒu彐jì

Parts are arranged left to right.

Traditional form 掃: To use 扌 a broom 帚; 帚 also provides the pronunciation

How to write 扫 step by step

6 strokes — each frame adds one stroke, shown in dark ink over the lighter ones.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

Words with 扫

Common words using 扫 — tap any character to open its stroke-order page.

dǎ打sǎo扫
HSK 4

to clean; to sweep

Open 打扫 page →
sǎo扫mù墓
HSK 7-9

to sweep a grave (and pay one's respects to the dead person)

Open 扫墓 page →
sǎo扫miáo描
HSK 7-9

to scan

Open 扫描 page →
sǎo扫xìng兴
HSK 7-9

to spoil things; to dampen spirits

Open 扫兴 page →
sǎo扫chú除
HSK 7-9

to clean; to clean up

Open 扫除 page →
huí回sǎo扫

see 回描[hui2 miao2]

Open 回扫 page →
fú拂sǎo扫

whisk

Open 拂扫 page →
yī一sǎo扫ér而guāng光

see 一扫而空

Open 一扫而光 page →

Related characters

More HSK 4 characters

丈与严临之乎亚企

From 扫’s common words

打墓描兴除回拂一

Ready to master 扫?

Trace 扫 stroke by stroke in the online practice tool, or turn it into a printable worksheet PDF with Tianzige practice grids, pinyin, and stroke-order breakdowns.

Practice 扫 onlineGenerate worksheet PDFBrowse all of HSK 4 →