Kanji 拭: wipe, mop, swab

Key takeaways

Kanji 拭: wipe, mop, swab. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

拭

Meaning

wipemopswab

On reading

しょくしき

Kun reading

ぬぐ.うふ.く

Radical

手

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 拭

wipe, mop, swab

Kanji structure breakdown

拭

Structure breakdown

扌 + 式

Mnemonic story

Imagine using your hand (扌) to wipe something clean according to a specific method or style (式). It represents the deliberate action of using your hands to scrub or mop something until it is clean.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

Kun reading

ぬぐ.う

拭くふく
to wipe / to dry

Commonly used words

拭く
ふく
to wipe / to dry

Example sentences

Example 1

てぬぐいで顔をふきました。

Translation

I wiped my face with a hand towel.

Example 2

お土産にてぬぐいをもらった。

Translation

I received a hand towel as a souvenir.

Example 3

窓をふくと外がよく見えます。

Translation

If you wipe the window, you can see outside clearly.

Example 4

手をふいてから食べましょう。

Translation

Let's wipe our hands before eating.

Kanji 拭: wipe, mop, swab

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

Kun reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

手拭い (てぬぐい): meaning and examples

拭く (ふく): meaning and examples