destroy, exterminate, annihilate
On'yomi (音読み)
- メツ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- ほろ.びる
- ほろ.ぼす
About this kanji
The kanji 滅, pronounced as メツ in on'yomi and ほろ.びる or ほろ.ぼす in kun'yomi, primarily means to destroy, exterminate, or annihilate. It is often used in nouns rather than verbs, indicating a focus on the idea of destruction. Common compounds include 滅亡 (めつぼう), which means destruction or ruin, 滅菌 (めっきん), meaning sterilization, and 絶滅 (ぜつめつ), which refers to extinction. A usage note is that 滅 tends to convey a sense of totality in destruction, suggesting something is completely wiped out rather than just damaged.
Built from
Example sentences
恐竜が滅びた時代。
The era when dinosaurs became extinct.
Meanings across languages
- English
- destroy, exterminate, annihilate
- Tiếng Việt
- diệt vong, tiêu diệt, hủy diệt
- 日本語
- 滅びる, 滅ぼす
- 한국어
- 파괴하다, 근절하다, 전멸시키다
- 中文
- 摧毁, 消灭, 毁灭
- id
- menghancurkan, memusnahkan, memusnahkan
- th
- ทำลาย, กำจัด, อาจจะทำลาย
- es
- destruir, exterminar, aniquilar
- fr
- détruire, exterminer, anéantir
- de
- zerstören, ausrotten, auslöschen
- pt
- destruir, exterminar, aniquilar
Common compounds
- 滅亡めつぼうdestruction, downfall
- 滅菌めっきんsterilization
- 絶滅ぜつめつextinction
- 滅裂めつれつincoherence, absurdity
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