About

The Chinese word 洗劫 (xǐjié) is a compound verb formed through semantic fusion, where the first character 洗 (xǐ), meaning "to wash," is used metaphorically to convey the sense of "sweeping clean" or "emptying completely," and the second character 劫 (jié) means "to rob" or "plunder." Combined, they create a vivid meaning of "to loot thoroughly," depicting a violent robbery so comprehensive that it leaves a place stripped bare, as if cleansed of all valuables. This structure exemplifies how Chinese often combines descriptive action (洗) with a core event (劫) to form an expressive idiom with intensified meaning.

Word Definition - 洗劫

xǐ jié to loot; to ransack; to pillage