消

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to diminish; to subside; to consume; to reduce; to idle away (the time); (after 不[bu4] or 只[zhi3] or 何[he2] etc) to need; to require; to take

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

氵 meaning “water” + 肖 sound ( xiào )

Components 氵肖

extinguish · Heisig RSH #152

水 water + sparks

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
消化道	xiāo huà dào	digestive tract
消化管	xiāo huà guǎn	digestive tube; gut
消基会	Xiāo jī huì	Consumers' Foundation, Chinese Taipei (CFCT) (abbr. for 中華民國消費者文教基金會\|中华民国消费者文教基金会)
消音器	xiāo yīn qì	silencer
三公消费	sān gōng xiāo fèi	see 三公經費\|三公经费[san1 gong1 jing1 fei4]
消化酒	xiāo huà jiǔ	digestif
消防通道	xiāo fáng tōng dào	fire exit; (firefighting) fire lane
消食儿	xiāo shí r	erhua variant of 消食[xiao1 shi2]
不消	bù xiāo	to not need; needless (to say)
中国消费者协会	Zhōng guó Xiāo fèi zhě Xié huì	China Consumers' Association (CCA)
消声器	xiāo shēng qì	noise reduction equipment
吃不消	chī bu xiāo	to be unable to tolerate or endure; to find sth difficult to manage
消化	xiāo huà	to digest (food); (fig.) to absorb (information etc); to assimilate; to process
消金	xiāo jīn	consumer finance (abbr. for 消費金融\|消费金融[xiao1 fei4 jin1 rong2])
消气	xiāo qì	to cool one's temper
消长	xiāo zhǎng	to ebb and rise; to decrease and then grow
消化不良	xiāo huà bù liáng	indigestion
小道消息	xiǎo dào xiāo xi	hearsay; gossip
开消	kāi xiāo	variant of 開銷\|开销[kai1 xiao1]
消费价格指数	xiāo fèi jià gé zhǐ shù	consumer price index CPI

Characters sharing the sound component 肖 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
肖 sound part	xiào	to resemble, to look like; to be like
销	xiāo	to fuse, to melt; to market, to sell
哨	shào	to whistle; to chirp
削	xiāo	to pare, to scrape, to trim
硝	xiāo	saltpeter; to tan leather
屑	xiè	bits, crumbs, scraps; fragments; not worthwhile
宵	xiāo	night, evening, darkness
鞘	qiào	scabbard, sheath
梢	shāo	the tip of a branch; rudder
悄	qiǎo	quiet, silent, still; anxious
筲	shāo	basket, bucket
蛸	shāo	octopus; long-legged spider; mantis nest
峭	qiào	steep, precipitous, rugged
逍	xiāo	to ramble, to stroll; to jaunt, to loiter
捎	shāo	to carry, to take; to select
艄	shāo	the stern of a ship
魈	xiāo	mischievious mountain spirit
诮	qiào	to scold, to blame; to ridicule, to criticize
绡	xiāo	raw silk