衰

2 readings · tap one to hear it

(bound form) to decay; to decline; to wane

Sound it out + + = · + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A person in a robe 衣 with an injury 一 to his head 口

Components 衣口一

decline · Heisig RSH #1678

哀 grief + walking stick

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
年老力衰	nián lǎo lì shuāi	old and weak (idiom)
放射性衰变	fàng shè xìng shuāi biàn	radioactive decay
衰变曲线	shuāi biàn qū xiàn	decay curves
国势日衰	guó shì rì shuāi	national decline
衰之以属	shuāi zhī yǐ shǔ	to treat a debility according to its nature
经久不衰	jīng jiǔ bù shuāi	unfailing; never-ending
衰变热	shuāi biàn rè	decay heat
半衰期	bàn shuāi qī	(physics) half-life
未老先衰	wèi lǎo xiān shuāi	to age prematurely
经济衰退	jīng jì shuāi tuì	(economic) recession
神经衰弱	shén jīng shuāi ruò	nervous exhaustion; neurasthenia; mental breakdown (often used to describe what is now und…
精神衰弱	jīng shén shuāi ruò	psychasthenia; obsessive-compulsive disorder
不衰	bù shuāi	unfailing; never weakening; enduring; unstoppable
衰人	shuāi rén	loser; jerk
衰退期	shuāi tuì qī	recession (in economics)
衰老	shuāi lǎo	to age; to deteriorate with age; old and weak
由盛转衰	yóu shèng zhuǎn shuāi	from prosperity to decline; at its peak before the decline
衰运	shuāi yùn	decline in fortunes
衰变	shuāi biàn	radioactive decay
光纤衰减	guāng xiān shuāi jiǎn	optical attenuation

These characters use 衰 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
衰 sound part	shuāi	weak, feeble; to decline, to falter
蓑	suō	straw raincoat
榱	cuī	rafter