吸尘器
xīchénqì
The English word 'vacuum' can be translated into Chinese as 吸尘器 (xīchénqì).
Meaning: transitive: to clean with a vacuum cleaner (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 吸尘器 is composed of 吸 (to suck/inhale), 尘 (dust) and 器 (machine/device).
Which one should you use?
Use 真空 to refer to a vacuum in a scientific or physical sense, whereas 吸尘器 refers to the household appliance.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
xīchénqì
Did you know?
- The word for 'dust' inside the phrase, 尘, is also used in the poetic term 尘世 (the dusty/mortal world), which refers to the mundane life of humans.
- The character 吸 used in 吸尘器 also describes the act of smoking, as in 吸烟 ('to smoke'). This is because both actions involve the physical act of inhaling or sucking in air.
- If you want to say you are vacuuming a room, you often use the phrase 吸尘 ('suck dust'), dropping the 器 ('device') entirely to turn the noun phrase into a verbal action.
Examples in context
- 猫很讨厌吸尘器。A cat abhors a vacuum.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 吸尘器.Tatoeba #574937 by humihiro, translation #574907 by kebukebu
- 请把吸尘器拿来吸地毯。Please bring the vacuum cleaner to vacuum the carpet.
- 我需要用吸尘机清理地板。I need to clean the floor with the vacuum cleaner.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yuting and Junjie are cleaning their living room.
- 雨婷 Yuting地板太脏了，快用吸尘器吸一下。Dìbǎn tài zāng le, kuài yòng xīchénqì xī yīxià.The floor is too dirty, quickly vacuum it.
- 俊杰 Junjie好的，吸尘器在厨房里吗？Hǎo de, xīchénqì zài chúfáng lǐ ma?Okay, is the vacuum in the kitchen?
- 雨婷 Yuting是的，就在橱柜下面。Shì de, jiù zài chúguì xiàmiàn.Yes, it is right under the cabinet.
- 俊杰 Junjie我找到了，现在就开始吸。Wǒ zhǎodào le, xiànzài jiù kāishǐ xī.I found it, I'll start vacuuming now.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
