洗 (xǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to wash”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 先 (first; earlier; before; ahead), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to wash”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 先
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「洗，洒足也。从水先聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵先，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–8 与「先」逐笔对应（3+6=9画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, 先 ("first") on the right: water comes first — wash up before anything else.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 洗手xǐ shǒuto wash one's hands洗 = xǐspoken asxí shǒu
- 洗衣机xǐ yī jīwashing machine洗 = xǐ
- 洗劫xǐ jiéto loot; to ransack洗 = xǐ
- 洗涤xǐ díto wash; to cleanse洗 = xǐ
- 涮洗shuàn xǐto rinse; to wash by swishing in water洗 = xǐ
Go deeper
All readings
to wash
to wash; to rinse; to clean
用水或其他液体去掉物体上的脏东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 洗手xǐ shǒuto wash one's hands洗 = xǐspoken asxí shǒu
- 洗衣机xǐ yī jīwashing machine洗 = xǐ
- 洗劫xǐ jiéto loot; to ransack洗 = xǐ
- 洗涤xǐ díto wash; to cleanse洗 = xǐ
- 涮洗shuàn xǐto rinse; to wash by swishing in water洗 = xǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 洗 mean?
洗 (xǐ) means to wash; to rinse; to clean.
How do you pronounce 洗?
It is pronounced xǐ.
What parts is 洗 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 先 (first; earlier; before; ahead), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「洗，洒足也。从水先聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵先，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–8 与「先」逐笔对应（3+6=9画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 洗 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 洗?
氵. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 洗?
Common ones are 洗手 and 洗衣机. The reading of 洗 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.