Ever cleaned your whole house before the cleaner shows up? Yeah, that’s a thing. This post has every word you ever wanted to know about doing chores.
今天上午十点，保洁阿姨要来。现在是八点。王明看了看家里。
不行。太脏了。他不想让保洁阿姨看到家里这么乱。
他拿起拖把，拖了地。然后他觉得桌子也很脏，拿抹布把桌子擦了一遍。擦完桌子，他看到窗户很脏，又擦了窗户。
擦完窗户，他去厨房。锅很脏。他洗了锅。碗也没洗。他洗了碗。水槽里有很多东西，他把水槽也刷了一遍。
他去卫生间。马桶要刷。他刷了马桶。镜子有水印，他擦了镜子。地上有头发，他扫了地。
他去卧室。床没有整理。他叠了被子，整理了枕头。地上有衣服，他把衣服放进洗衣机，开始洗衣服。
九点五十了。王明坐下来，看着家里。
很干净。
门铃响了。保洁阿姨来了。她走进来，看了看，说：”哇，你家很干净啊。”
王明笑了。”还好，还好。”
保洁阿姨看了看，又说：”那我今天做什么？”
王明想了想。
“你坐吧，”他说。”我去泡茶。”
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 保洁 | bǎo jié | cleaning; cleaner |
| 拖把 | tuō bǎ | mop |
| 抹布 | mā bù | cleaning cloth; rag |
| 擦 | cā | to wipe |
| 水槽 | shuǐ cáo | sink |
| 马桶 | mǎ tǒng | toilet |
| 整理 | zhěng lǐ | to tidy up; organize |
| 叠 | dié | to fold |
| 洗衣机 | xǐ yī jī | washing machine |
| 门铃 | mén líng | doorbell</p> |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 午 | wǔ | 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse; ancient Chinese compass point: 180° (south) |
| 十 | shí | ten; 10 |
| 点 | diǎn | to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to admini… |
| 阿 | ā | prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity; used in transliteration; (bound form) Afghanistan (abbr. for 阿富汗[A1 fu4 han4]); (bound form) Alban… |
| 姨 | yī | mother's sister |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 八 | bā | eight |
| 王明 | Wáng Míng | Wang Ming (1904-1974), Soviet-trained Chinese communist, Comintern and Soviet stooge and left adventurist in the 1930s, fell out with Mao and moved to Soviet Union from 1956 |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 看家 | kān jiā | to look after the house; (of skill, ability) special; outstanding |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 不行 | bù xíng | won't do; be out of the question; be no good; not work; not be capable |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 脏 | zàng | viscera; (anatomy) organ; dirty; filthy; to get (sth) dirty |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 不想 | bù xiǎng | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 家里 | jiā lǐ | home |
| 这么 | zhè me | so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 拿起 | ná qǐ | to pick up |
| 拖 | tuo | to drag; to tow; to pull; to delay; to procrastinate |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 桌子 | zhuō zi | table; desk; CL:張|张[zhang1],套[tao4] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 拿 | ná | old variant of 拿[na2]; variant of 拿[na2]; to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object) |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 遍 | biàn | variant of 遍[bian4]; everywhere; all over; classifier for actions: one time |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 窗户 | chuāng hu | window; CL:個|个[ge4],扇[shan4] |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 厨房 | chú fáng | kitchen; CL:間|间[jian1] |
| 锅 | guo | pot; pan; wok; cauldron; CL:口[kou3],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 洗 | xǐ | to wash; to bathe; to develop (photographs); to shuffle (cards etc); to erase (a recording) |
| 碗 | wǎn | variant of 碗[wan3]; bowl; cup; CL:隻|只[zhi1],個|个[ge4] |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 刷 | shua | a brush; to brush; to scrub; (onom.) swish; rustle; to scroll on (a phone) |
| 卫生间 | wèi shēng jiān | bathroom; toilet; WC; CL:間|间[jian1] |
| 镜子 | jìng zi | mirror; CL:面[mian4],個|个[ge4] |
| 有水 | yǒu shuǐ | supplied with water (of a house) |
| 印 | Yìn | surname Yin; abbr. for 印度[Yin4 du4], India |
| 地上 | dì shang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 发 | fā | to send out; to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds); hair; Taiwan pr. [fa3] |
| 扫 | sǎo | to sweep (with a brush or broom); to sweep away; to wipe out; to get rid of; to sweep (one's eyes etc) over; to scan |
| 卧室 | wò shì | bedroom; CL:間|间[jian1] |
| 床 | chuáng | bed; couch (furniture that one can lie down on) (CL:張|张[zhang1]); bed; bottom (of rivers, oceans, gardens etc); frame; chassis; classifier for blankets, quilts etc; variant of 床[chuang2] |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 被子 | bèi zi | blanket; quilt; CL:條|条[tiao2],床[chuang2] |
| 枕 | zhén | (bound form) pillow |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 放进 | fàng jìn | to put into |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 洗衣 | xǐ yī | laundry |
| 服 | fú | clothes; dress; garment; to serve (in the military, a prison sentence etc); to obey; to be convinced (by an argument); to convince; to admire; to acclimatize; to take (medicine); m… |
| 九 | jǐu | nine; 9 |
| 五十 | wǔ shí | fifty |
| 坐下 | zuò xia | to sit down |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 干净 | gān jìng | clean; neat |
| 响 | xiǎng | echo; sound; noise; to make a sound; to sound; to ring; loud; classifier for noises |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 走进 | zǒu jìn | to enter; to step into |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 哇 | wa | Wow!; sound of vomiting |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 啊 | ā | interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh! |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 还好 | hái hǎo | not bad; pretty good; fortunately; luckily |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 吧 | bā | bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc); to puff (on a pipe etc); (onom.) bang; abbr. for 貼吧|贴吧[tie1 ba1] |
| 我去 | wǒ qù | (slang) what the ...!; oh my god!; that's insane! |
| 泡 | pǎo | puffed; swollen; spongy; classifier for urine or feces |
| 茶 | chá | tea; tea plant; CL:杯[bei1],壺|壶[hu2] |
The cleaning lady is coming at ten o’clock this morning. It’s eight o’clock now. Wang Ming took a look around the house.
No good. Too dirty. He didn’t want the cleaning lady to see the house so messy.
He picked up the mop and mopped the floor. Then he thought the table was also dirty, so he took a cloth and wiped the table all over. After wiping the table, he saw the windows were dirty, so he cleaned the windows too.
After cleaning the windows, he went to the kitchen. The pot was dirty. He washed the pot. The bowls weren’t washed either. He washed the bowls. There were lots of things in the sink, so he scrubbed the sink too.
He went to the bathroom. The toilet needed scrubbing. He scrubbed the toilet. The mirror had water stains, so he wiped the mirror. There was hair on the floor, so he swept the floor.
He went to the bedroom. The bed wasn’t made. He folded the blanket and tidied the pillows. There were clothes on the floor, so he put the clothes in the washing machine and started washing them.
It was nine fifty. Wang Ming sat down and looked around the house.
Very clean.
The doorbell rang. The cleaning lady had arrived. She walked in, took a look around, and said, “Wow, your home is so clean.”
Wang Ming smiled. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
The cleaning lady looked around and said again, “So what should I do today?”
Wang Ming thought for a moment.
“Why don’t you sit down,” he said. “I’ll go make some tea.”