A Comparative Study on the Meaning of ChineseVerbs “ 洗/刷 ” and Korean Verb “ 씻다 ”

Abstract

Polysemy verbs are common in Chinese and Korean, but this does not mean that corresponding words in the two
languages possess the exact same meanings. Based on the example sentences in the dictionary and their daily usage, this
paper makes a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences in the basic meanings, extended meanings, and
specific usage between the Chinese verb “洗/刷” and the Korean verb “씻다”. In the basic meaning, “洗/刷” “씻다”
share a common meaning of “making dirty things disappear”. However, their extended meanings are quite different, and
there exist complex corresponding relationships between them. In terms of usage, the Chinese word “ 洗 / 刷 ” is mostly
used to express negative emotions. For example, “ 洗 ” has the extended meaning of “robbing or killing” and “ 刷 ” has
the extended meaning of “eliminating”. In contrast, “ 씻 다 ” is mostly used to express positive emotions and has the
intention of “getting rid of injustice, misunderstanding and guilt”. In addition, from the field of their usage, “ 洗 / 刷 ” is
wider than “ 씻다 ”, and it is commonly used in the field of science and technology