污

wū

variant of 污[wu1]

dirty; filthy; foul; corrupt; to smear; to defile; dirt; filth

water (氵) + phonetic (亏) = dirty, filthy

The water radical carries the meaning here — stagnant or tainted water evokes filth and contamination. 亏 mainly contributes the sound wū.

氵+亏→污
亏DeficitPhonetic
氵WaterSemantic

河里的水受到了污染,不能喝。

hé lǐ de shuǐ shòu dào le wū rǎn,bù néng hē。

The water in the river has been polluted and cannot be drunk.

工厂排放的污水流进了农田。

gōng chǎng pái fàng de wū shuǐ liú jìn le nóng tián。

The wastewater discharged by the factory flowed into the farmland.

Words with 污

玷污

diàn wū

to stain

同流合污

tóng liú hé wū

to wallow in the mire with sb (idiom); to follow the bad example of others

污辱

wū rǔ

to humiliate

污渍

wū zì

stain

污痕

wū hén

blot

脏污

zāng wū

filth; grime; stain

光污染

guāng wū rǎn

light pollution

卑污

bēi wū

despicable and filthy

去污

qù wū

to decontaminate; to clean

去污名化

qù wū míng huà

to destigmatize

反污

fǎn wū

to accuse the victim (while being the guilty party)

反贪污

fǎn tān wū

anticorruption

More characters with 氵

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