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消

Mandarin · pinyin xiāo

to diminish; to subside
to consume; to reduce
to idle away (the time)
(after 不 bù or 只 zhǐ or 何 hé etc) to need; to require; to take

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消: xiāo · vanish, die out; melt away

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · xiao1

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1character link53same-tone records6source references

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

siu1

Cantonese word readings for 消. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

to disappear; to vanish; to die down; to settle down
to eliminate; to terminate; to eradicate
to while away (time)
to spend (money)
(abbreviation, alt-of, contraction) contraction of 需要 (xūyào, “to need”)
used in 消息 (xiāoxi)
(Hokkien) short for 消化 (siau-hòa, “to digest”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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