削 (xiāo/xuē) — to whittle, pare, peel (xiāo); to cut down, reduce (xuē)

entries → 削

TSUMUGU · B2 (est.) · 字

削 character · B2 (est.)

削＝刀＋肖

ㄒㄧㄠ · xiāo/xuē

verb — to whittle, pare, peel (xiāo); to cut down, reduce (xuē)

字源 FORM — what the parts do

刀義a knife — the paring blade

肖聲xiào — gives the sound

Txiào → xiāo — tone shifts

A knife (刀) shaves thin slices off at a slant — 削皮、削尖. From taking layers off a thing, to cut it down, 削減、削弱. 肖 xiào carries the sound, and the same donor builds 消、銷、稍.

意 · Meanings

xiāo

(本義)削、刮削— to whittle, pare常用

→削皮、削尖— to peel, sharpen

xuē

(本義)削減、削弱— to cut down, weaken常用

→剝削、削職— to exploit; to strip of rank

(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension