污
Tap the pinyin to hear it
dirty; filthy; foul; corrupt; to smear; to defile; dirt; filth
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How to remember it
filthy · Heisig RSH #2287
水 water + snake hook
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 污
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 生活污水 | domestic wastewater; domestic sewage | |
| 同流合污 | to wallow in the mire with sb (idiom); to follow the bad example of others | |
| 污名化 | to stigmatize | |
| 去污名化 | to destigmatize | |
| 污水管 | sewage pipe | |
| 污水处理厂 | water treatment plant | |
| 放射性污染 | radioactive contamination | |
| 大气污染 | air pollution; atmospheric pollution | |
| 空气污染 | air pollution | |
| 污水 | sewage | |
| 排污管 | sewer | |
| 水质污染 | water pollution | |
| 污点 | stain; taint | |
| 污名 | bad reputation; stigma | |
| 反污 | to accuse the victim (while being the guilty party) | |
| 血污 | blood smears; bloodstains | |
| 油污 | greasy dirt; sludge (from an oil spill) | |
| 污染区 | contaminated area | |
| 水污染 | water pollution | |
| 污染物 | pollutant |
Sound family
Characters sharing the sound component 亏 — compare how they read.