扫除
sǎo chú · HSK 7
to sweep
🧹 扫除 = 扫 sweep + 除 remove: sweep-and-remove, a clean-out
扫 is the broom action of sweeping; 除 means to remove or eliminate. Together they mean a thorough clean, and figuratively to sweep away obstacles or bad habits.
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.
除 — left ear/mound 阝 + surplus 余
除 combines the 'mound/steps' radical 阝 (originally 阜, a hill) with 余 as the phonetic. It first meant the steps of a palace, then extended to 'remove' or 'clear away' (as one sweeps steps clean), and later to mathematical 'divide.'