洗

2 readings · tap one to hear it

to wash; to bathe; to develop (photographs); to shuffle (cards etc); to erase (a recording)

Sound it out + = · + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

氵 meaning “water” + 先 sound ( xiān )

Components 氵先

wash · Heisig RSH #257

水 water + 先 before

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
洗手间	xǐ shǒu jiān	toilet; lavatory; washroom
洗发水儿	xǐ fà shuǐ r	shampoo
洗手不干	xǐ shǒu bù gàn	to totally stop doing something; to reform one's ways
洗发水	xǐ fà shuǐ	shampoo (liquid)
洗石子	xǐ shí zi	(Tw) pebble-wash finish; exposed aggregate surface (construction technique using cement mi…
洗手台	xǐ shǒu tái	vanity unit
高压清洗机	gāo yā qīng xǐ jī	high pressure washer
洗头	xǐ tóu	to wash one's hair; to have a shampoo
洗发精	xǐ fà jīng	shampoo
洗地	xǐ dì	to clean the floor; (Internet slang) (lit.) to wash (the blood) off the floor; (fig.) to c…
洗马	xiǎn mǎ	(official title) herald to the crown prince (in imperial China)
机洗	jī xǐ	to machine-wash
洗白	xǐ bái	to make sth clean and white; (fig.) to whitewash; to launder money
跳进黄河洗不清	tiào jìn Huáng Hé xǐ bù qīng	lit. even jumping into the Yellow River can't get you clean; fig. to become inexorably mix…
手洗	shǒu xǐ	to hand-wash
洗手	xǐ shǒu	to wash one's hands; to go to the toilet
洗面	xǐ miàn	facial cleansing
洗车	xǐ chē	to wash a car; to get a car wash
洗衣机	xǐ yī jī	washing machine; washer; CL:臺\|台[tai2]
洗甲水	xǐ jiǎ shuǐ	nail polish remover

Characters sharing the sound component 先 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
先 sound part	xiān	first, former, previous
选	xuǎn	to select, to elect, to choose; election
宪	xiàn	constitution, statute, law
酰	xiān	acylate
铣	xiǎn	mill
冼	xiǎn	surname
筅	xiǎn	bamboo brush
跣	xiǎn	barefoot
诜	shēn	to question; to inform