大掃除

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 大掃除, read おおそうじ, means a thorough cleaning.
• Basic usage: It describes cleaning more extensively or with more effort than the usual routine.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Reading
  • The initial 大 is read おお here.
• Action and occasion
  • In the example, 台所の大掃除をした says that the kitchen was thoroughly cleaned.
  • 大掃除で marks the activity or occasion during which the old photograph was found.