Chinese word dictionary

疏通

shūtōng · to unblock; to dredge; to clear the way; to get things flowing; to facilitate; to mediate; to lobby; to explicate (a text)

Practice word

Word information

Simplified疏通

Traditional疏通

Pinyinshūtōng

Part of speech动

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

疏shū

to neglect; to dredge, to clear away; lax, careless

通tōng

to pass through, to open, to connect; to communicate; common

How to learn 疏通

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

交通jiāotōng

to be connected; traffic; transportation; communications; liaison

普通pǔtōng

common; ordinary; general; average

普通话pǔtōnghuà

Mandarin (common language); Putonghua (common speech of the Chinese language); ordinary speech

通tōng

to go through; to know well; (suffix) expert; to connect; to communicate; open; to clear; classifier for letters, telegrams, phone calls etc

通过tōngguò

to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation); to pass (a test); by means of; through; via

通知tōngzhī

to notify; to inform; notice; notification; CL:個|个[ge4]