削减 (xuē jiǎn) — to reduce; to cut down (budgets, expenses, staf… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

削减 is a formal verb meaning 'to cut down / reduce' (costs, staff, budgets), stronger and more written than the everyday 减少. Compared to 缩短, it reduces quantity or size, not time or length.

verb

to reduceto cut down (budgets, expenses, staff, etc.)

Examples

削减。
Gōng sī bì xū xuē jiǎn chéng běn cái néng yíng lì.
The company must cut down costs in order to turn a profit.
削减。
Zhèng fǔ xuē jiǎn le jūn shì kāi zhī.
The government reduced military spending.
，削减。
Wèi le huán bǎo, wǒ men yīng gāi xuē jiǎn sù liào shǐ yòng.
For environmental protection, we should reduce the use of plastic.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

削xiāocut down

削 (cut down) and 减 (reduce) together mean to cut back budgets or staff.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

肖刂削

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刂Written in full as刀dāo

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào削xiāo

Same sound today

削 pairs 肖, which gives the sound, with 刀 (written as 刂), a knife, to show cutting or paring.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 減; 减 is its simplified writing.

氵咸減

氵水shuǐwater
咸咸xiánseal

The traditional form 減 has 氵, water, and 咸, a seal: sealing off a stream of water lessens its flow. The simplified 减 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Change & Process

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.