Chinese symbol for “rub”
擦
cā
to rub; to scratch; to wipe; to polish; to apply (lipstick, lotion etc); to brush (past)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for rub is 擦 (cā), defined as: to rub; to scratch; to wipe; to polish; to apply (lipstick, lotion etc); to brush (past); to shred (a vegetable etc).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “rub”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 摩 | mó | to rub |
| 磨 | mó | to rub; to grind |
| 揉搓 | róu cuo | to rub; to torment |
| 挼 | ruó | to rub; to crumple |
| 揉 | róu | to knead; to massage |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 擦.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 摩擦 | mó cā | friction; rubbing |
| 擦肩而过 (擦肩而過) | cā jiān ér guò | to brush past; to pass by (sb); (fig.) to miss (an opportunity, a danger etc); to have a brush (with death) |
| 磨擦 | mó cā | variant of 摩擦 (mó cā) |
| 擦亮 | cā liàng | to polish |
| 擦拭 | cā shì | to wipe clean |
| 擦干 (擦乾) | cā gān | to wipe dry |
See also: Japanese symbol for “rub”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.