How to Write 削 (xiāo/xuē) — Meaning “to peel; to pare; to cut”

Q: What is a good memory trick to remember 削?

Imagine you have a small knife (刂) to shave off the skin of a fruit, and the left part 肖 looks like a slice of apple with a stem. The sound 'xiao' is like 'shave' — you shave the peel off.

Q: What should I watch out for when writing 削?

The left part 肖 has seven strokes; make sure the vertical stroke in the middle is straight and the bottom part (月) is narrow. The right knife radical has two strokes: a vertical hook and a short slash — keep them compact and close to the left part.

Q: How is 削 different from 删 and 判?

削 has a knife radical and means to peel or cut thin layers. 删 (shān) uses a book radical (册) and means to delete text. 判 (pàn) uses a half radical (半) and means to judge or decide, like splitting a case.

Q: In what situations do people use 削 in modern Chinese?

You commonly see 削 in 削铅笔 (xiāo qiān bǐ, sharpen a pencil) for everyday actions. In words like 剥削 (bō xuē, exploit) it has a negative social meaning of taking away unfairly, while 削减 (xuē jiǎn, reduce) is used for cutting budgets or numbers.

Q: What common words use 削?

Common words containing 削 include: 剥削 (bō xuē) — to exploit; exploitation; 削减 (xuē jiǎn) — to cut down; to reduce; 削铅笔 (xiāo qiān bǐ) — to sharpen a pencil.

xiāo/xuē HSK Level 7 9 strokes Radical: 刂

削 (xiāo/xuē) means "to peel; to pare; to cut" in Chinese. It has 9 strokes with the radical 刂, and is HSK Level 7.

Rated 3.7/5 in difficulty (challenging).

Harder than 23% of HSK Level 7 characters.

Appears in 4+ common words including 剥削 (bō xuē), 削减 (xuē jiǎn), 削铅笔 (xiāo qiān bǐ).

Due to its 9 strokes, Hanzi Writer's error detection shows 削 requires focused practice — most learners need 10+ attempts for consistent accuracy.

Practice Writing 削 (xiāo/xuē)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 削 with real-time feedback.

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How to Write 削

The character 削 (xiāo/xuē) is written with 9 strokes. Follow the standard Chinese stroke order: top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside. The radical 刂 is one of its key components.

Practice the correct stroke order with the Hanzi Writer app to see animated stroke-by-stroke guidance with real-time feedback.

What Does xiāo/xuē (削) Mean in Chinese?

削 means to peel; to pare; to cut.

This is a polyphonic character with readings: xiāo, xuē.

As an HSK Level 7 character, 削 is an intermediate-level character.

Character Data

Character	削
Pinyin	xiāo / xuē (xiao/xue)
Meaning	to peel; to pare; to cut
Strokes	9
Radical	刂
HSK Level	7
Difficulty	3.7/5

Origin of 削

削 is a phono-semantic compound: the radical 刂 (knife) indicates cutting, while the phonetic component 肖 (xiào) originally depicted small pieces of flesh (小 'small' + 肉 'flesh') being cut away. Together, they represent the action of paring or peeling off thin layers.

💡 Memory Tip: Picture a knife (刂) paring down a small moon (肖: 小 + 月) — you're peeling off its skin.

Common Words with 削

剥削 bō xuē

to exploit; exploitation

削减 xuē jiǎn

to cut down; to reduce

削铅笔 xiāo qiān bǐ

to sharpen a pencil

削皮 xiāo pí

To peel; to pare

Example Sentences

我们要坚决反对任何形式的压迫和剥削。

wǒ men yào jiān jué fǎn duì rèn hé xíng shì de yā pò hé bō xuē

We must resolutely oppose any form of oppression and exploitation.

为了降低成本，公司决定削减非必要开支。

wèi le jiàng dī chéng běn gōng sī jué dìng xuē jiǎn fēi bì yào kāi zhī

To reduce costs, the company decided to cut non-essential expenses.

现在的学生大多使用自动笔，很少自己削铅笔了。

xiàn zài de xué shēng dà duō shǐ yòng zì dòng bǐ hěn shǎo zì jǐ xiāo qiān bǐ le

Most students nowadays use mechanical pencils and rarely sharpen pencils themselves.

妈妈熟练地用小刀给红苹果削皮。

mā mā shú liàn dì yòng xiǎo dāo gěi hóng píng guǒ xiāo pí

Mom skillfully peeled the red apple with a small knife.

Similar Characters Comparison

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Radical
削 (current)	xiāo / xuē	9	刂
删	shān	7	刂
判	pàn	7	刂
刨	bào / páo	7	刂

Practice Writing 削 (xiāo/xuē)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 削 with real-time feedback.

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Frequently Asked Questions about 削

What are the components of 削 and how do they relate to its meaning?

削 is made of two parts: the left side 肖 (xiāo, which gives a phonetic hint) and the right side 刂 (knife radical, indicating cutting). The knife radical directly connects to the action of cutting, peeling, or paring something.

What is a good memory trick to remember 削?

What should I watch out for when writing 削?

How is 削 different from 删 and 判?

In what situations do people use 削 in modern Chinese?

What common words use 削?

How to Write 削 (xiāo/xuē) — Meaning “to peel; to pare; to cut”

Practice Writing 削 (xiāo/xuē)

How to Write 削

What Does xiāo/xuē (削) Mean in Chinese?

Character Data

Origin of 削

Common Words with 削

Example Sentences

Similar Characters Comparison

Practice Writing 削 (xiāo/xuē)

Frequently Asked Questions about 削

More HSK Level 7 Characters

Characters with Radical 刂

Other 9-Stroke Characters