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消瘦 (xiāo shòu) — become emaciated, waste away (of a person's body)

Definition

A verb meaning 'to become emaciated / waste away,' used for a person's body after illness or poor nutrition. It can also function as an adjective (消瘦的面容 'emaciated face').

verb
become emaciatedwaste away (of a person's body)

Examples

  • ，消瘦。
    Tā bìng le yì chǎng, zhěng gè rén dōu xiāo shòu le xǔ duō.
    After being ill, he became much more emaciated.
  • 消瘦。
    Cháng qī yíng yǎng bù liáng ràng tā rì jiàn xiāo shòu.
    Long-term malnutrition has caused her to waste away day by day.
  • 消瘦。
    Tā xiāo shòu de miàn róng ràng rén xīn téng.
    His emaciated face makes people feel heartbroken.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

消xiāowaste away
瘦shòuthin

'消' and '瘦' both point to wasting or thinness, so the sense is becoming lean.

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.

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.

Open 消 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
叟
叟sǒu瘦shòu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

瘦 is built from 疒 and 叟: 疒 gives the meaning, and 叟 gives the sound.

Open 瘦 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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