decrease

About this kanji

The kanji 耗 primarily means 'to decrease' or 'to exhaust.' It is usually used in nouns rather than verbs. One common compound is 消耗 (しょうもう), meaning 'exhaustion,' which refers to a state of being worn out or used up. Another example is 消耗品 (しょうもうひん), which means 'consumable goods,' items that are intended to be used up or consumed over time. There’s also 摩耗 (まもう), meaning 'wear' — often used in contexts like the wear and tear of materials. A usage note: when you see this kanji, it often relates to something being depleted or used until it's no longer effective.

Example sentences

• 資源が徐々に耗費されている。

  Resources are gradually being depleted.

Meanings across languages

English

decrease

Tiếng Việt

giảm

日本語

耗る

한국어

감소하다

中文

减少

id

penurunan

th

การลดลง

es

disminución

fr

diminution

de

Abnahme

pt

diminuição

Common compounds

• 消耗しょうもうexhaustion, consumption, using up
• 消耗品しょうもうひんconsumable goods
• 摩耗まもうwear, abrasion
• 心神耗弱しんしんこうじゃくdiminished capacity, diminished responsibility, legally unaccountable (e.g. due to mental illness, drugs, alcohol, etc.)
• 衰耗すいもうweaken and decline
• 損耗そんもうwear, loss
• 減耗げんもうnatural decrease
• 咬耗こうもうattrition, occlusal wear