How to Write 涮 (shuàn) — Meaning “To rinse / to dip in boiling water”

Imagine you are at a hot pot restaurant: you pick up a slice of meat with chopsticks and 刷 (shuā, like ‘brush’) it quickly through the bubbling water. The water radical 氵 reminds you that you are dipping it into liquid, so 涮 means ‘to dip in boiling water’ just like hot pot.

The left side 氵 (water radical) should be written with three dots, not two, and they should curve slightly downward. The right side 刷 has a horizontal stroke that is longer than the top part, and the vertical ‘knife’ stroke on the right must not be too short. A common mistake is making the bottom of 刷 too narrow—keep it balanced with the left water radical.

洁 (jié) means ‘clean’ or ‘pure’ and has the radical 氵 but is always about cleanliness, never about cooking. 洄 (huí) means ‘to go against the current’ or ‘to swirl’ and is used for water movement, not for dipping food. In contrast, 涮 specifically means to rinse or dip something quickly in hot water, especially in the context of hot pot.

涮 is most commonly used when talking about hot pot (火锅), a very popular social meal where people dip raw ingredients like meat and vegetables into a boiling broth. You will see it in phrases like 涮火锅 (shuàn huǒ guō, ‘to have hot pot’) or 涮肉 (shuàn ròu, ‘to dip meat’). It can also mean to rinse or wash something quickly, like 涮洗 (shuàn xǐ, ‘to rinse out a container’).

Common words containing 涮 include: 涮火锅 (shuàn huǒ guō) — To have hot pot; 涮肉 (shuàn ròu) — To dip meat in hot pot; 涮洗 (shuàn xǐ) — To rinse / to wash out.