耗

hào

毛 + 耒

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

hào (verb) to waste; to consume; to squander

hào (noun) news; information

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 耒 represents the meaning and 毛 represents the sound.

Semantic: 耒 Phonetic: 毛

About

The character 耗 is a phonosemantic compound, with 耒 (the plow radical) on the left giving a clue to its meaning, and 毛 on the right indicating the sound. Its original sense was the unavoidable loss of grain during farming and milling. From this specific agricultural context, it broadened to describe the consuming, exhausting, or wasting of any resource, time, energy, or materials. In modern usage, it frequently appears in terms for power consumption, waste, and the slow draining of vitality, reflecting a shift from concrete farming loss to abstract and physical depletion.

Etymology Hide

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个游戏很耗时间。

Zhè ge yóuxì hěn hào shíjiān.

This game is very time-consuming.

长时间开车非常消耗精力。

Cháng shíjiān kāichē fēicháng xiāohào jīnglì.

Driving for a long time is very draining.

这台旧空调太耗电了。

Zhè tái jiù kōngtiáo tài hào diàn le.

This old air conditioner consumes too much electricity.

我们不能白白耗费这么多资源。

Wǒmen bùnéng báibái hàofèi zhème duō zīyuán.

We cannot waste so many resources for nothing.

项目的巨大耗资超出了预算。

Xiàngmù de jùdà hàozī chāochūle yùsuàn.

The huge cost of the project exceeded the budget.

研发过程耗去了他们数年心血。

Yánfā guòchéng hào qùle tāmen shù nián xīnxuè.

The research and development process consumed years of their hard work.

这种低效的工作方式耗损团队士气。

Zhè zhǒng dīxiào de gōngzuò fāngshì hàosǔn tuánduì shìqì.

This inefficient way of work erodes team morale.

长期的精神内耗会严重影响心理健康。

Chángqī de jīngshén nèihào huì yánzhòng yǐngxiǎng xīnlǐ jiànkāng.

Long-term mental exhaustion can seriously affect mental health.

Related Characters

Component: 毛

Component: 耒

耗