污水

• Pinyin: wū shuǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 污 = 氵(water) + 亏, dirty; 水 = pictograph of flowing water

Meaning

Sewage; wastewater; polluted water.

Refers to contaminated water from households, factories, or other sources that needs treatment before disposal. Common in terms like 污水处理 (sewage treatment), 污水排放 (sewage discharge), 污水管道 (sewage pipes). An important term in environmental and urban infrastructure discussions.

Examples

1. 城市的污水必须经过处理才能排入河流。 City sewage must be treated before being discharged into rivers.
2. 这家工厂因为偷排污水被罚了一大笔钱。 This factory was fined heavily for illegally discharging wastewater.
3. 新建的污水处理厂每天可以处理十万吨污水。 The newly built sewage treatment plant can process 100,000 tons of wastewater daily.

Usage Guide

Context: environment, infrastructure, news

Tone: technical

Do Say

• 污水处理厂。(Sewage treatment plant.)
• 工业污水。(Industrial wastewater.)

Don't Say

• 污水很脏 — redundant since 污水 already means dirty water; just say 这是污水 or describe the specific contamination

Origin & History

Compound of 污 (dirty/polluted) + 水 (water), meaning dirty or contaminated water.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal