减

減

jiǎn

冫 + 咸

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

jiǎn (verb) to decrease; to reduce

jiǎn (verb) to subtract

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 冫 represents the meaning and 咸 represents the sound. Simplified form of 減.

Semantic: 冫 Phonetic: 咸

About

The simplified character 减 (traditional 減) is a phono-semantic compound. Its left component, originally 氵 'water' and simplified to 冫 'ice', indicates the semantic field of water; the right component 咸 provides the sound, though pronunciation has shifted over time. The character initially referred to the receding of water levels or the subsiding of floods. From this concrete environmental sense, the meaning broadened to cover any general decrease, subtraction, or reduction, applying to numbers, intensity, physical size, and abstract quantities.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

五减二等于三。

Wǔ jiǎn èr děngyú sān.

Five minus two equals three.

我要减少糖的摄入。

Wǒ yào jiǎnshǎo táng de shèrù.

I want to reduce sugar intake.

他每天运动以减肥。

Tā měitiān yùndòng yǐ jiǎnféi.

He exercises every day to lose weight.

司机在弯道减速。

Sījī zài wāndào jiǎnsù.

The driver slows down on the curve.

公司计划削减开支。

Gōngsī jìhuà xuējiǎn kāizhī.

The company plans to cut expenses.

学习如何减轻压力很重要。

Xuéxí rúhé jiǎnqīng yālì hěn zhòngyào.

Learning how to reduce stress is important.

政府致力于减少碳排放。

Zhèngfǔ zhìlì yú jiǎnshǎo tàn páifàng.

The government is committed to reducing carbon emissions.

通过优化流程，生产效率得到了显著减少。

Tōngguò yōuhuà liúchéng, shēngchǎn xiàolǜ dédàole xiǎnzhù jiǎnshǎo.

By optimizing the process, production efficiency has been significantly reduced.

Related Characters

Component: 冫

Component: 咸

减