打扫
dǎ sǎo · HSK 4
to clean
🧹 打 (hit) + 扫 (sweep) = to clean by sweeping
打 often acts as a generic 'do/perform' verb in compounds, and 扫 means sweep. Together 打扫 means to clean a space, especially by sweeping or tidying up.
打 — hand radical 扌 + nail 丁
打 combines the hand radical 扌 (action with the hand) with 丁 (originally a nail), suggesting striking or hitting with the hand. 丁 also serves as a phonetic hint in older readings. The meaning broadened from 'to strike' to a general verb for many hand-based actions, like 打电话 'make a phone call'.
扫 — hand radical 扌 + broom 帚
A semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 shows the action, while 帚 (broom) gives both the meaning and an approximate sound. The original picture of 帚 depicts a broom held upright, so 扫 literally means 'to wield a broom,' i.e. to sweep.