sai2 san1洗身
Jyutpingsai2 san1
Yalesái sān
Definition
To take a bath or shower.
colloquialdaily actionsbody
How it's used
While this term is perfectly understandable, it is significantly less common in daily speech than 沖涼. It often carries a slightly more formal or descriptive tone, sometimes implying the act of scrubbing or cleaning the body thoroughly rather than just a quick rinse. You will hear it more frequently in contexts where someone is emphasizing the physical act of washing off sweat or dirt.
Examples
The first thing I do when I get home is take a shower.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 洗澡, which is the standard term in Mandarin and written Chinese. Using 洗澡 in casual conversation can sound stiff or unnatural to a local speaker.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
