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消失 (xiāo shī) — to disappear; to fade away

Definition

消失 is a general verb for things vanishing — light, smiles, customs, even people. 失踪 is used mainly when a person or object goes missing unexpectedly; 绝迹 means vanishing completely (a species, a practice).

verb
to disappearto fade away

Examples

  • ，消失。
    Tài yáng luò shān yǐ hòu, guāng xiàn jiàn jiàn xiāo shī le.
    After the sun sets, the light gradually disappears.
  • 消失。
    Tā liǎn shàng de xiào róng tū rán xiāo shī le.
    The smile on her face suddenly disappeared.
  • 消失。
    Zhè xiē gǔ lǎo de xí sú zhèng zài màn màn xiāo shī.
    These ancient customs are slowly fading away.

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xiāovanish
失shīdisappear

消 vanish and 失 disappear together express ceasing to be present.

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 →

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →
Appears in
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