减 (jiǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to subtract”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 咸 (salty; all), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to subtract; to reduce”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 咸
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫咸，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「咸」9 笔 = 11 笔）；声符依据 说文解字「減，損也。从水咸聲」（减为其简化字形，左旁由氵作冫）；读音比对 咸 xián → 减 jiǎn
Memory aid
Ice (冫) melts away beside something salty (咸) — salt makes ice shrink, so the amount goes down: subtract.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 减少jiǎn shǎoto reduce; to decrease减 = jiǎnspoken asjián shǎo
- 减肥jiǎn féito lose weight; to go on a diet减 = jiǎn
- 削减xuē jiǎnto cut back; to reduce减 = jiǎn
Go deeper
All readings
to subtract; to reduce
to subtract; to reduce; to decrease; minus
从总体中去掉一部分；使变少、降低。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 减少jiǎn shǎoto reduce; to decrease减 = jiǎnspoken asjián shǎo
- 减肥jiǎn féito lose weight; to go on a diet减 = jiǎn
- 削减xuē jiǎnto cut back; to reduce减 = jiǎn
Sound component
咸 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 减 mean?
减 (jiǎn) means to subtract; to reduce; to decrease; minus.
How do you pronounce 减?
It is pronounced jiǎn.
What parts is 减 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 咸 (salty; all), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿰冫咸，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「冫」2 笔 + 右「咸」9 笔 = 11 笔）；声符依据 说文解字「減，損也。从水咸聲」（减为其简化字形，左旁由氵作冫）；读音比对 咸 xián → 减 jiǎn. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 减 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 减?
冫. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 减?
Common ones are 减少, 减肥, 削减. The reading of 减 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.