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noun / verb HSK 4
yù
to bathe · bath · to wash

Meaning

浴 refers to bathing or taking a bath. As a noun, it means 'bath' or 'bathing'; as a verb, it means 'to bathe' or 'to immerse in water.' It's commonly seen in compound words related to bathing and washing activities.

Usage

浴 rarely appears alone in modern spoken Chinese. It's almost always part of compound words like 洗浴 (bathing), 浴室 (bathroom), 沐浴 (to bathe, more literary), or 淋浴 (shower). The standalone character is more common in formal or written contexts.

Examples

  1. 01
    我每天晚上都会沐浴。
    Wǒ měi tiān wǎnshang dōu huì mùyù.
    I bathe every evening.
  2. 02
    这个酒店的浴室很干净。
    Zhège jiǔdiàn de yùshì hěn gānjìng.
    This hotel's bathroom is very clean.

Common collocations

  • 浴室
    yù shì
    bathroom
  • 浴缸
    yù gāng
    bathtub
  • 淋浴
    lín yù
    shower
  • 洗浴
    xǐ yù
    bathing

Origin

The character 浴 combines the water radical 氵(shuǐ) on the left with 谷 (gǔ, valley) on the right. The phonetic component 谷 also suggests the meaning of a container or enclosed space, relating to a bathing vessel.

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