消 (xiāo) - to disappear, vanish & to eliminate, remove

消Tone 1

xiāo ｜ 10 strokes ｜ radical:

想信

消 · xiāo

to disappear, vanish;

to eliminate, remove;

to cancel, offset;

to spend (time), pass;

to extinguish, quench.

to disappear, vanishto eliminate, removeto cancel, offset

Usage highlights

to disappearto eliminateto cancel outto pass timeto consumeto digest

Synonyms

  • 灭— to extinguish, put out
  • 除— to remove, eliminate
  • 散— to scatter, disperse

Antonyms

  • 长— to grow, increase
  • 生— to be born, generate
  • 增— to increase, add

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The fog will disappear by noon (消失).
  • We need to eliminate these errors (消除).
  • Let's go out to pass the time (消遣).
  • The fire department extinguished the blaze (消火).
  • This medicine reduces inflammation (消炎).

Collocations

  • to disappear(消失)
  • to eliminate(消除)
  • to cancel out(抵消)
  • to pass time(消遣)
  • to consume(消费)
  • to digest(消化)

Idioms

  • To vanish without a trace(销声匿迹)
  • To dispel misgivings and remove doubts(消疑释惑)
  • To spend the whole night(通宵达旦)
  • To melt away like ice and break like tiles(冰消瓦解)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The character 消 is semantically tied to the concept of water (氵), implying a gradual dissipation or erosion, much like water wearing away stone.
  • In traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy, it relates to the process of digestion (消化) and the dissipation of pathogenic factors.
  • It appears in terms related to modern consumption and economics, such as 消费 (consumption).

FAQ