The character 消 — “vanish”: how to write it and what it means
vanish; eliminate
The Chinese character 消 is read xiāo and means “vanish; eliminate”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 消
消 has 10 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 消, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 消 is made of
On the left, 氵 “water”; on the right, 肖 xiào hints at the sound.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 消
- 取消cancelHSK 4
- 消息newsHSK 4
- 消化digestHSK 5
- 消极passive, negativeHSK 5
- 消费consume, spendHSK 5
- 消失disappearHSK 5
- 消费者consumerHSK 5
- 消毒disinfectHSK 6
- 消耗consume, use upHSK 6
- 消防fire service; firefightingHSK 6
- 消除eliminate, dispel (fear, harm)HSK 6
- 消灭wipe out, exterminateHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 消?
消 has 10 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 消 mean?
消 means “vanish; eliminate”. It appears in 取消 (“cancel”), 消息 (“news”), 消化 (“digest”), 消极 (“passive”).
How do you pronounce 消?
消 is read xiāo. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 消 have?
10 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 消 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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