消气 (xiāo qì) — to cool down (one's anger); to become mollified | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning to cool off or stop being angry — the change-of-state verb built from the noun 气 ('anger'). Often used as 消了气/消不了气 after the cause of anger passes.

verb

to cool down (one's anger)to become mollified

Examples

，消气。
Nǐ bié shēng qì le, kuài xiāo qì ba.
Don't be angry anymore; cool down quickly.
，。
Tā tīng le wǒ de jiě shì, cái xiāo le qì.
He only cooled down after hearing my explanation.
，。
Tā qì dé bù xíng, bàn tiān dōu xiāo bù liǎo qì.
She was so angry that she couldn't calm down for a long time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

消 (dispel) and 气 (anger) together mean calming down.

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.

氵肖消

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào消xiāo

Same sound today

消 has 氵 (water) beside 肖. The water part connects to putting out or making something vanish, and 肖 gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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