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缩小 (suō xiǎo) — to reduce, to shrink, to narrow

Definition

缩小 means 'to reduce/shrink' — works for physical size (clothes, fabric) and abstract scope (gap, scale, differences). Unlike 减少, it suggests things getting smaller in dimension, not just lower in number.

verb
to reduceto shrinkto narrow

Examples

  • 缩小。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài nǔ lì suō xiǎo chéng xiāng chā jù.
    The government is working hard to narrow the urban-rural gap.
  • 缩小。
    Zhè jiàn máo yī xǐ le yǐ hòu suō xiǎo le hěn duō.
    This sweater shrank a lot after washing.
  • 缩小。
    Gōng sī jué dìng suō xiǎo tóu zī guī mó.
    The company decided to reduce the scale of investment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

缩suōcontract
小xiǎosmall

缩 means to contract, and 小 means small; together they give a smaller state.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 縮; 缩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìstring, thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
宿
宿sù縮suō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 縮 pairs 糸 (string, thread) with 宿, which gives the sound; the simplified 缩 is a shorthand.

Open 缩 →

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Change & Process

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