擦る
する · suru · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to rub
🧽 Suru sounds like sore-oo: rub too long and the skin chafes sore
Same sound as する (to do), so the kanji 擦 tells them apart. 擦 also appears in 摩擦 (masatsu, friction). You also use it for striking a match: マッチを擦る. It is more often read こする (kosuru), the everyday word for rub or scrub.
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.
こする · kosuru · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to rub
🧽 扌 hand + 察 examine: rub a surface with your hand to examine or wear it down
Sounds like KOS-ru, as in 'cos, you rub.' Rubbing glass with a hand or abrasive leaves it dull, which is where the 'to frost' sense comes from.
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.
かする · kasuru · JLPT N1 · verb-godan
to rub
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.