揩

kāi
扌 + 皆

Definitions

kāi to wipe

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 皆 represents the sound.

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 皆

About

The character 揩 combines the hand radical 扌 on the left, indicating a manual action, with the phonetic element 皆 on the right. Its core meaning is the physical act of wiping or scrubbing a surface clean by hand or with cloth. This primary sense remains in everyday use, but the character also developed a colloquial meaning in some regional dialects: to take petty advantage of someone or scrape minor benefits from their efforts, extending the cleaning motion into a metaphor for opportunistic behavior.

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈揩了揩桌子。

Māmā kāi le kāi zhuōzi.

Mom wiped the table.

他用纸巾揩手。

Tā yòng zhǐjīn kāi shǒu.

He wiped his hands with a tissue.

我揩干净了窗户。

Wǒ kāi gānjìng le chuānghu.

I wiped the window clean.

服务员揩拭着餐具。

Fúwùyuán kāishì zhe cānjù.

The waiter is wiping the utensils.

他总想揩别人的油。

Tā zǒng xiǎng kāi biérén de yóu.

He always wants to take advantage of others.

揩油这种行为不好。

Kāiyóu zhè zhǒng xíngwéi bù hǎo.

This kind of behavior of taking advantage is not good.

她轻轻揩去眼角的泪水。

Tā qīngqīng kāi qù yǎnjiǎo de lèishuǐ.

She gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eye.

在合作中，他试图揩公司的油。

Zài hézuò zhōng, tā shìtú kāi gōngsī de yóu.

In the cooperation, he tried to take advantage of the company.

Related Characters

Component: 扌

把 提 打 报 接 指 据 拉 持 技 找 推 投 护

Component: 皆

谐 楷 偕 锴 階 喈 龤 稭 蒈 諧 堦 湝 鍇

Example Words

揩油 揩拭