污 (wū): dirty, filthy, foul
污 (wū) is a Chinese character meaning “dirty.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 亏 (phonetic). It ranks #1397 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 污 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- dirty
- filthy
- foul
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 污 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 污
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 玷污 | diàn wū | to stain |
| 污点 | wū diǎn | stain |
| 污渍 | wū zì | stain |
| 污秽 | wū huì | (literary) dirty |
| 贪污 | tān wū | to be corrupt |
| 污迹 | wū jì | blotch |
| 污染物 | wū rǎn wù | pollutant |
| 污辱 | wū rǔ | to humiliate |
| 同流合污 | tóng liú hé wū | to wallow in the mire with sb (idiom) |
| 污垢 | wū gòu | variant of 污垢[wu1 gou4] |
| 污蔑 | wū miè | variant of 污衊|污蔑[wu1 mie4] |
| 污言秽语 | wū yán huì yǔ | (idiom) filthy speech |
| 污浊 | wū zhuó | dirty |
| 油污 | yóu wū | greasy dirt |
| 排污 | pái wū | to drain sewage |
污 appears in 57 compound words: 42 as the first character, 26 as the last, and 32 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 污 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
synonym of 藏污納垢 /藏污纳垢 (cángwūnàgòu, “to shelter evil people and countenance evil practices”)
Example Sentences
清晨的污面波光粼粼，倒映着岸边的柳树。
qīng chén de wū miàn bō guāng 粼 粼 , dǎo yìng zhe àn biān de liǔ shù .
The murky surface glistened in the early morning light, reflecting the willow trees along the shore.
...喂奶一边做dna检查有影响吗?母乳成分会污染血液样本吗
. . . wéi nǎi yī biān zuò d n a jiǎn chá yǒu yǐng xiǎng ma ? mǔ rǔ chéng fēn huì wū rǎn xiě yè yàng běn ma
... Does doing a DNA test while breastfeeding make a difference? Can breast milk ingredients contaminate blood samples?
婴儿奶粉全球召回:污染源来自中国,是巧合吗?
yīng ér nǎi fěn quán qiú zhào huí : wū rǎn yuán lái zì zhōng guó , shì qiǎo gě ma ?
Global recall of infant milk powder: Is it a coincidence that the source of pollution comes from China?
杨善勇:养猪场困局,不是在污染
yáng shàn yǒng : yǎng zhū chǎng kùn jú , bù shì zài wū rǎn
Yang Shanyong: The dilemma of pig farms is not pollution
高金素梅诈助理费再扩大!张琼姿餐厅卷贪污案
gāo jīn sù méi zhà zhù lǐ fèi zài kuò dà ! zhāng 琼 zī cān tīng juǎn tān wū àn
Gao Jin Sumei's fraud assistant fee is expanded again! Zhang Qiongzi's restaurant is involved in the corruption case
...究表明:监管缺失的商业航天活动正成为大气污染新威胁
. . . jiū biǎo míng : jiān guǎn quē shī de shāng yè háng tiān huó dòng zhèng chéng wéi dà qì wū rǎn xīn wēi xié
... Research shows that commercial space activities without regulation are becoming a new threat to air pollution
工厂的废料导致了严重的环境污染。
Gōngchǎng de fèiliào dǎozhì le yánzhòng de huánjìng wūrǎn.
The factory waste gave rise to serious environmental pollution.
废水经常污染海洋。
Fèishuǐ jīngcháng wūrǎn hǎiyáng.
Sewage often pollutes the ocean.
空气被废气污染了。
Kōngqì bèi fèiqì wūrǎn le.
The air was polluted by exhaust gas.
这座村没有空气污染。
Zhè zuò cūn méiyǒu kōngqìwūrǎn.
This village is free from air pollution.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 污 (wū) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 污 and 洁?
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What characters sound the same as 污 (wū)?
Is 污 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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