减 meaning in English

jiǎn

to lower; to decrease

HSK 4verbTraditional 減11 strokes

Meaning of 减

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

jiǎn

to lower
to decrease
to reduce
to subtract
to diminish

How to use 减

减 means to reduce or subtract. It appears in math (十减三, shí jiǎn sān, ten minus three) and in many compounds like 减少 (jiǎnshǎo) and 减肥 (jiǎnféi). Example: 我想减肥。(Wǒ xiǎng jiǎnféi.) I want to lose weight.

减 (jiǎn) has the two-drop ice radical 冫 on the left and 咸 (xián) on the right. Picture ice melting away, so the amount gets smaller.

Common mistake: Learners often write the left side with three drops 氵 instead of two drops 冫. The traditional form 減 uses three drops, but simplified 减 uses two. Also keep the third tone in jiǎn, since it is easy to confuse with 简 (jiǎn, simple), which sounds the same but has a different meaning.

减 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè种zhǒng药yào会huì减jiǎn轻qīng你nǐ的de疼téng痛tòng。

This medicine will decrease your pain.

最zuì近jìn我wǒ的de体tǐ重zhòng减jiǎn少shǎo了le。

I've lost weight recently.

最zuì近jìn他tā的de顾gù客kè减jiǎn少shǎo了le。

His audience is falling off these days.

我wǒ这zhè个ge月yuè要yào减jiǎn少shǎo开kāi支zhī。

I have to reduce my expenses this month.

八bā减jiǎn去qù三sān就jiù能néng得dé到dào五wǔ。

Subtract three from eight and you get five.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

减 jiǎn · to lower · 11 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 减.

减少	jiǎnshǎo	to lessen; to decrease; to reduce; to lower
减肥	jiǎnféi	to lose weight
减轻	jiǎnqīng	to lighten; to ease
减速	jiǎnsù	to reduce speed; to slow down
减弱	jiǎnruò	to weaken; to diminish
减压	jiǎnyā	to reduce pressure; to relax
减免	jiǎnmiǎn	to reduce or waive (taxes, punishment, rent, tuition etc)
衰减	shuāijiǎn	to weaken; to attenuate
削减	xuējiǎn	to cut down; to reduce
减刑	jiǎnxíng	to reduce penalty; shortened or commuted (judicial) sentence
减慢	jiǎnmàn	to slow down
减缓	jiǎnhuǎn	to slow down; to retard

Questions about 减

What does 减 mean?

减 (jiǎn) means "to lower; to decrease" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 减?

减 is made of 1 character: 减 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 减 an HSK word?

Yes. 减 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 减 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 减 is written 減.

How do you say plus and minus in Chinese math?

Use 加 (jiā) for plus and 减 (jiǎn) for minus. For example, 五减二等于三 (wǔ jiǎn èr děngyú sān) means five minus two equals three.

What is the difference between 减 and 减少?

减 is a single verb often used in math or fixed compounds, like 减价 (jiǎnjià, to cut prices). 减少 (jiǎnshǎo) is the common everyday word for decreasing an amount, as in 减少浪费 (jiǎnshǎo làngfèi, to reduce waste).