洗

Mandarin · pinyin xǐ#

Meanings · xǐ

  1. to wash; to bathe
  2. to develop (photographs)
  3. to shuffle (cards etc)
  4. to erase (a recording)
Mandarin · pinyin xiǎn#

Meanings · xiǎn

  1. used in 洗馬 xiǎn mǎ
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

洗
xǐ · wash, rinse; clean, purify
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3 · xi3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link33same-tone records
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

洗 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 14 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sai2 · sin2

Cantonese word readings for 洗. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. to wash; to rinse
  2. to clean; to purify
  3. to redress; to right
  4. (religion) baptism
  5. to kill and loot; to sack
  6. (photography) to develop (a photo)
  7. (photography, figurative, colloquial) to print (a photo) from digital camera
  8. to clear; to erase (a recording, a file, etc.)
  9. (card games) to shuffle
  10. (derogatory) to whitewash
  11. (Northern Min) to give birth to; to beget

character · Etymology 1

  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to wash one's feet
  2. a surname

character · Etymology 2

  1. (Cantonese) alternative form of 使 (“to need”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

洗 · xi3 · xian3
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source lines 64,525, 64,526
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source records洗 洗 [xi3] /to wash; to bathe/to develop (photographs)/to shuffle (cards etc)/to erase (a recording)/洗 洗 [xian3] /used in 洗馬|洗马[xian3 ma3]/