How to Write 刷 (shuā) — Meaning “To brush / To swipe.”

Imagine you are using a brush (刷子) to clean a door-shaped object (like 尸) with a knife-like tool (刂) to scrape off dirt. The left part 尸 looks like a door or a flat surface, and the right part 刂 reminds you of the brushing action. Visualize scrubbing a surface with a brush to recall the meaning 'to brush'.

Write the left part 尸 first: start with the horizontal stroke, then the left-falling stroke, and finally the horizontal hook. Then add the right part 刂: a vertical hook followed by a short vertical slash. A common mistake is making the left part too wide or misplacing the vertical hook on the right—keep the left side narrow and the right side balanced.

刷 means 'to brush or swipe', while 刎 (wěn) means 'to cut one's throat' and 刑 (xíng) means 'punishment' or 'torture'. Visually, 刷 has the left component 尸 (body), while 刎 uses 歺 (bone remnant) and 刑 uses 开 (open). All share the 刂 radical but have different left parts that change the meaning completely.

刷 is very common in daily life: 刷牙 (shuā yá) means 'to brush teeth', and 刷卡 (shuā kǎ) means 'to swipe a card' for payment. A cultural note is that 刷 is also used for 'brushing' actions on phones or computers, like 刷屏 (shuā píng) meaning 'to refresh a screen' or 'to scroll through posts'.

Common words containing 刷 include: 刷牙 (shuā yá) — To brush teeth.; 刷卡 (shuā kǎ) — To pay by card / To swipe a card.; 刷子 (shuā zi) — Brush..