Meaning of 消失
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to disappear; to fade away
How to use 消失
消失 is an intransitive verb, so it cannot take an object. It is used for people, things, feelings, or sounds that fade away or vanish. Example: 他突然消失了。(Tā tūrán xiāoshī le.) He suddenly disappeared.
消 (xiāo) has the water radical 氵, like water drying up and vanishing, and 失 (shī) means to lose. Put them together: something dries up and is lost from sight, so it disappears.
Common mistake: Learners often say 我消失了钥匙 to mean 'I lost my keys', but 消失 takes no object. Use 丢 (diū) or 失去 (shīqù) instead: 我丢了钥匙。
消失 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
消 xiāo · to diminish · 10 strokes
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- 2
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- 4
- 5
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- 9
- 10
失 shī · to lose · 5 strokes
- 1
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- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 消失.
| 失去 | shīqù | to lose |
| 消息 | xiāoxi | (piece of) news; information; message |
| 取消 | qǔxiāo | to cancel; to call off; to revoke; to rescind |
| 消费 | xiāofèi | to consume (goods and services, resources etc) |
| 失败 | shībài | to be defeated; to lose |
| 失望 | shīwàng | disappointed; to lose hope |
| 失业 | shīyè | unemployment; to lose one's job |
| 消化 | xiāohuà | to digest (food); (fig.) to absorb (information etc); to assimilate; to process |
| 损失 | sǔnshī | loss; damage |
| 消除 | xiāochú | to eliminate; to remove |
| 失误 | shīwù | lapse; mistake |
| 消防 | xiāofáng | firefighting; fire control |
Questions about 消失
What does 消失 mean?
消失 (xiāoshī) means "to disappear; to fade away" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 消失?
消失 is made of 2 characters: 消 (10 strokes), 失 (5 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 消失 an HSK word?
Yes. 消失 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 消失 and 失去?
消失 means something itself disappears, with no object: 声音消失了 (the sound faded away). 失去 means someone loses something, and it takes an object: 失去机会 (to lose a chance).
Can 消失 be used for feelings or problems?
Yes. It works well for abstract things fading away, such as 痛苦慢慢消失了 (tòngkǔ mànman xiāoshī le), the pain slowly went away. It often appears with words like 慢慢 or 逐渐 to show gradual fading.