擦
cā · HSK 4
scrape
🧽 擦 = 扌(hand) + 察 (inspect) — a hand wiping to inspect
The hand radical 扌signals a physical action; 察 (cā/chá, inspect) lends both sound and sense. Together: wipe/scrape/swab — the hand action you do when checking or cleaning a surface.
擦 — hand radical 扌 + 察 (chá, inspect)
擦 is a phono-semantic compound. The hand radical 扌 indicates the meaning — an action done with the hand, namely rubbing, wiping, or scrubbing. The right side 察 supplies the sound, giving the modern reading cā. The character is relatively late and has always centered on the idea of friction by hand.