埽 (sào) - To sweep & to clean

埽Tone 4

sào ｜ 11 strokes ｜ radical:

三姗

埽 · sào

To sweep;

to clean;

a bundle of twigs or reeds used for dike construction or flood control;

to repair or reinforce with such materials.

To sweepto cleana bundle of twigs or reeds used for

Usage highlights

Bundled reed workSweeping the groundDike repair materialsRiverbank reinforcementBundle constructionFlood barrier

Synonyms

  • 扫— to sweep (more common modern character)
  • 清— to clear, to clean

Antonyms

  • 积— to accumulate, to pile up
  • 堆— to heap, to stack

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Workers sweep the street (埽街).
  • They used bundles of reeds to reinforce the riverbank (埽工).
  • The ancient method of dike repair involved woven branches (埽塌).
  • Flood control often required extensive bundling (埽料).

Collocations

  • Bundled reed work(埽工)
  • Sweeping the ground(埽地)
  • Dike repair materials(埽料)
  • Riverbank reinforcement(埽岸)
  • Bundle construction(埽筑)
  • Flood barrier(埽防)

Idioms

  • Sweep away like dead leaves(埽穴犁庭)
  • Clear away obstacles(埽除障碍)
  • Reinforce the foundations(埽基固本)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically used in hydraulic engineering in ancient China, particularly for Yellow River flood control.
  • The character combines earth (土) and broom (帚), representing both sweeping and earthen construction.
  • Traditional flood control methods using 埽 were documented as early as the Warring States period.

FAQ