洗澡

• Pinyin: xǐ zǎo
• Hanzi breakdown: 洗 = 氵(water) + 先 (first, phonetic); 澡 = 氵(water) + 喿 (noisy, phonetic)

Meaning

To take a bath; to take a shower. The general term for bathing or showering.

Covers both bathing and showering. In modern usage, it usually means taking a shower rather than a bath. A verb-object compound — the two characters can be separated by other elements (e.g., 洗个澡, 洗了一个澡).

Examples

1. 我每天晚上都洗澡。 I take a shower every evening.
2. 他跑完步以后马上去洗澡了。 He went to take a shower right after running.
3. 天太热了，我想去洗澡。 It's too hot, I want to go take a shower.

Usage Guide

Context: daily routine, hygiene, home

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你先去洗澡吧。(You go take a shower first.)
• 洗完澡觉得很舒服。(It feels great after taking a shower.)

Don't Say

• 在正式场合讨论洗澡 (Avoid casually bringing up 洗澡 in formal or business settings — it's a private daily activity)

Origin & History

洗 (xǐ, to wash) + 澡 (zǎo, to bathe). Together they form a verb-object compound meaning 'to wash-bathe.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal