cā
rub
我擦了擦桌子上的灰尘。
wǒ cā le cā zhuōzi shàng de huīchén.
I wiped the dust off the table.
他擦了擦脸上的汗水。
tā cā le cā liǎn shang de hànshuǐ.
He wiped the sweat off his face.
她擦了擦手上的油。
tā cā le cā shǒu shang de yóu.
She wiped the oil off her hands.
推 (tuī)
push
拉 (lā)
pull
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The Chinese character 擦 (cā) for "to rub" or "to wipe" is composed of two parts: the radical 手 (shǒu), meaning "hand", and the phonetic component 察 (chá). The radical suggests the action of using one's hand to perform the action of rubbing or wiping. The phonetic component 察 provides the pronunciation and additional semantic meaning. The combination of these two components creates the character 擦, which specifically refers to the act of rubbing or wiping something with the hand.
