耗
Mnemonic
A pine tree drops sharp needles onto a fur coat draped over its roots. Each needle punctures and pulls out tufts, causing the fur's thickness to decrease steadily. By winter, the coat is threadbare—all that lush fur consumed by the relentless pine tree above.
Additional thoughts
Visualize a luxurious fur coat snagged on a pine tree's rough bark, needles raining down and snagging fibers one by one. The slow, inevitable loss of fur mirrors the kanji's sense of gradual depletion and wearing away.Quick recall
A pine tree's falling needles shred a fur coat, making its thickness decrease to nothing.Details
The keyword for 耗 is decrease. This kanji conveys the idea of diminishing, wearing away, or being consumed over time. It refers to the gradual reduction or depletion of resources, energy, or materials through use or waste. The character is commonly associated with concepts of consumption, exhaustion, and loss, as in the slow erosion of something's quantity or vitality.
- On'yomi
- もう、こう