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How to Write 扫 (sǎo/sào) — Meaning “to sweep; to clear away”

sǎo/sào HSK Level 4 6 strokes Radical: 扌

扫 (sǎo/sào) means "to sweep; to clear away" in Chinese. It has 6 strokes with the radical 扌, and is HSK Level 4.

Rated 3.2/5 in difficulty (challenging).

Harder than 21% of HSK Level 4 characters.

Appears in 4+ common words including 打扫 (dǎ sǎo), 扫除 (sǎo chú), 扫帚 (sào zhǒu).

Due to its 6 strokes, Hanzi Writer's error detection shows 扫 requires focused practice — most learners need 10+ attempts for consistent accuracy.

Stroke order practice for 扫 - sǎo/sào

Practice Writing 扫 (sǎo/sào)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 扫 with real-time feedback.

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How to Write 扫

The character 扫 (sǎo/sào) is written with 6 strokes. Follow the standard Chinese stroke order: top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside. The radical 扌 is one of its key components.

Practice the correct stroke order with the Hanzi Writer app to see animated stroke-by-stroke guidance with real-time feedback.

What Does sǎo/sào (扫) Mean in Chinese?

扫 means to sweep; to clear away.

This is a polyphonic character with readings: sǎo, sào.

As an HSK Level 4 character, 扫 is an intermediate-level character.

Character Data

Character扫
Pinyinsǎo / sào (sao)
Meaningto sweep; to clear away
Strokes6
Radical扌
HSK Level4
Difficulty3.2/5

Origin of 扫

The character 扫 combines the hand radical 扌 (hand) on the left with a simplified form of 帚 (broom) on the right, originally depicting a hand holding a broom to sweep away debris. Over time, the right component was streamlined to 彐, which still evokes the motion of sweeping clean.

💡 Memory Tip: Picture a hand (扌) gripping a broom with bristles shaped like the three strokes of 彐, vigorously sweeping dirt off the floor.

Common Words with 扫

打扫 dǎ sǎo
to clean; to sweep
扫除 sǎo chú
to clean up / to sweep away
扫帚 sào zhǒu
broom
扫帚星 sào zhǒu xīng
comet; a person who brings bad luck

Example Sentences

每周五下午，全校师生都要打扫卫生。

měi zhōu wǔ xià wǔ quán xiào shī shēng dōu yào dǎ sǎo wèi shēng

Every Friday afternoon, all teachers and students in the school clean up.

我们的目标是扫除一切阻碍发展的障碍。

wǒ men de mù biāo shì sǎo chú yī qiè zǔ ài fā zhǎn de zhàng ài

Our goal is to clear all obstacles that hinder development.

爷爷用扫帚把院子里的落叶扫成一堆。

yé yé yòng sào zhǒu bǎ yuàn zi lǐ de luò yè sǎo chéng yī duī

Grandpa is sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard into a pile with a broom.

古代人认为彗星是代表灾祸的扫帚星。

gǔ dài rén rèn wéi huì xīng shì dài biǎo zāi huò de sào zhǒu xīng

Ancient people believed that comets were 'broom stars' representing disaster.

Similar Characters Comparison

Character Pinyin Strokes Radical
扫 (current) sǎo / sào 6 扌
扎 zā / zhā / zhá 4 扌
扑 pū 5 扌
扒 bā / pá 5 扌
Stroke order practice for 扫 - sǎo/sào

Practice Writing 扫 (sǎo/sào)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 扫 with real-time feedback.

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Frequently Asked Questions about 扫

扫 combines the radical 扌 (hand) on the left with 彐 (a simplified form of a broom) on the right. The hand radical shows the action is done with the hand, while the right part visually represents a broom. Together they mean "to sweep" or "to clear away."

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Characters with Radical 扌

才cái扎zā/zhā/zhá扑pū扒bā/pá打dá/dǎ扔rēng払fǎn托tuō扛gāng/káng扢gǔ

Other 6-Stroke Characters

㐆yǐn㓞qià丞chéng丢diū乑yín乒pīng乓pāng乔qiáo乩jī买mǎi