消 (xiāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to disappear”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 肖 (to resemble; likeness), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to disappear”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 肖
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「消，盡也。从水肖聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵肖，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–9 与「肖」逐笔对应（3+7=10画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) beside 肖 ("likeness"): pour water over a likeness drawn in chalk and it fades away — to vanish.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 消失xiāo shīto disappear; to vanish消 = xiāo
- 取消qǔ xiāoto cancel; to call off消 = xiāo
- 消耗xiāo hàoto consume; to use up消 = xiāo
Go deeper
All readings
to disappear
to disappear; to vanish; to eliminate; to use up
消失，散去；使消失，除去；消耗，减少。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 消失xiāo shīto disappear; to vanish消 = xiāo
- 取消qǔ xiāoto cancel; to call off消 = xiāo
- 消耗xiāo hàoto consume; to use up消 = xiāo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 消 mean?
消 (xiāo) means to disappear; to vanish; to eliminate; to use up.
How do you pronounce 消?
It is pronounced xiāo.
What parts is 消 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 肖 (to resemble; likeness), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「消，盡也。从水肖聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵肖，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–9 与「肖」逐笔对应（3+7=10画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 消 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 消?
氵. 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 消?
Common ones are 消失, 取消, 消耗. The reading of 消 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.