Chinese word

减

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiǎn

Meaning

  • verbreduce

Example

政府计划减税。zhèng fǔ jì huà jiǎn shuì

The government plans to reduce taxes.

Illustration for 减 (reduce)

More examples

为了解决债务问题，公司不得不减少开支。wèi le jiě jué zhài wù wèn tí gōng sī bù dé bù jián shǎo kāi zhī

To solve its debt problem, the company had to reduce its expenses.

Core concept

Part of an existing amount or force is taken away, leaving a lower level.

Common phrases

  • 减少jián shǎo

    reduce

  • 减税jiǎn shuì

    reduce taxes

  • 减轻jiǎn qīng

    lessen

Similar words

减少jián shǎo: Cause a quantity or degree to become less.
降低jiàng dī: Bring a level, rate, or standard down.
减轻jiǎn qīng: Lighten a burden or make pain and pressure less intense.
缩小suō xiǎo: Reduce the size or range of a physical thing or area.

Definition in Chinese

使某物的数量、程度或强度变少；表示减少或削弱。shǐ mǒu wù de shù liàng chéng dù huò qiáng dù biàn shǎo biǎo shì jián shǎo huò xuē ruò

Word origin

The character 减 (jiǎn, "reduce") descends from 減 (jiǎn, "reduce"), formed with 氵 (shuǐ, "water") + 咸 (xián, "salty"), where 氵 contributes meaning and 咸 contributes pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • The verb fits both concrete quantities and abstract pressures, which helps connect everyday phrases about lowering costs, effort, or intensity with number-based usage.

Other meanings

  • subtractverb
  • decreaseverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 减法jián fǎsubtractionnoun
  • 减量jiǎn liàngquantity reductionnoun
  • 减速jiǎn sùslow downverb

Word lists with this word