sou3 ping4掃平扫平
Jyutpingsou3 ping4
Yalesou pìhng
Definition
To sweep down, knock over, or level everything in an area.
colloquialdaily actionsnature
How it's used
Focuses on the destructive or clearing force of a wide, horizontal motion. It is frequently used to describe natural disasters like typhoons or landslides, but also applies to someone clearing a desk or shelf with a single arm movement. The imagery is of flattening or clearing an entire area rather than just moving one object.
Examples
Common phrases
to sweep away everything
Common mistake
Do not use this to mean cleaning a floor, which is simply 掃地. Using 掃平 implies a forceful, often messy or destructive action that leaves the surface bare.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
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Classifier
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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).
