削弱
xuē ruò · HSK 7
to weaken
🪓 削弱 = 削 whittle/pare + 弱 weak: shave it down until it's weak
削 is to whittle or pare away with a blade; 弱 means weak. Pared down again and again, a thing loses its strength — to weaken, impair, or cripple it.
削 — 肖 (phonetic) + 刂 knife radical
削 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the knife radical 刂 gives the meaning of cutting or paring, while 肖 (xiāo) supplies the sound. The original sense was to pare or shave with a blade, which extended to figurative meanings like to reduce, strip away, or cut down.
弱 — two 弓 (bows) + two 彡 (feathers/strokes)
Originally depicted two bent bows with drooping feathers or fine hairs, suggesting something pliant and weak. The doubled 弓 emphasizes flexibility, while 彡 evokes delicate, thin strands. The image of a soft, bending bow extended to mean 'weak,' 'frail,' or 'young.'