Chinese word

减少

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiǎn shǎo

Meaning

  • verbreduce

Example

我们要减少开支。wǒ men yào jián shǎo kāi zhī

We need to reduce expenses.

Illustration for 减少 (reduce)

More examples

为了健康，她决定减少吃糖。wèi le jiàn kāng tā jué dìng jián shǎo chī táng

For her health, she decided to eat less sugar.

Core concept

A movement from a larger amount or degree toward a smaller one, whether the change is gradual or achieved by cutting something back.

Common phrases

  • 减少开支jián shǎo kāi zhī

    reduce expenses

  • 减少压力jián shǎo yā lì

    reduce pressure

  • 减少排放jián shǎo pái fàng

    reduce emissions

Similar words

降低jiàng dī: Bring a level, price, temperature, or similar value down.
减轻jiǎn qīng: Ease pain, pressure, worry, or a burden by making it less heavy.

Definition in Chinese

使原有的量或程度降低，既可强调减少的过程也可指达到的结果，本身常作及物动词使用。shǐ yuán yǒu de liàng huò chéng dù jiàng dī jì kě qiáng diào jián shǎo de guò chéng yě kě zhǐ dá dào de jié guǒ běn shēn cháng zuò jí wù dòng cí shǐ yòng

Word origin

减少 (jiǎnshǎo, "reduce") combines 减 (jiǎn, "make less") and 少 (shǎo, "few"), joining the act of making something less with the resulting smaller amount.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, 减少 (jiǎnshǎo, "reduce") usually takes the amount, cost, time, or risk that becomes smaller as its object, so the affected thing can be stated directly.

Other meanings

  • decreaseverb
  • scale downverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word