裁减
cái​jiǎn

reduce

裁 cái cut out

To cut 戈 cloth 衣

Components

𢦏
𢦏 SoundMeaning component
zāi to cut
衣
衣 Meaning component
yī clothes

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzoj[dz]ˤə cut out clothes

說文解字

《說文》：“裁，制衣也。从衣，聲。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

减 jiǎn decrease Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. 冫 represents the meaning and 咸 represents the sound. Simplified form of 減.

Components

冫
冫 Meaning component
bīng ice

冫 is a component form of 冰.

咸
咸 Sound component
xián all

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

減 jiǎn decrease Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 咸 represents the sound.

Components

氵
氵 Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

氵 is a component form of 水.

咸
咸 Sound component
xián all

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Seal form
Seal Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartheamXm-kˤr[ə]mʔ abridge
keamXkˤr[ə]mʔ reduce

說文解字

《說文》：“減，損也。从水，咸聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)