省～

しょう～ · shou～ · JLPT N2 · noun

economizing ~

💡 省エネ = 省 (economize) + エネ (energy); 省 + noun = economizing that noun

Other examples: 省スペース = economizing space, 省力 = economizing labor. The ~ in 省～ is the noun that follows 省.

省 — 少 (shǎo) on top + 目 (eye) below
Originally a compound of 少 'small/few' over 目 'eye', suggesting narrowed eyes peering closely — hence the reading xǐng meaning 'to examine, inspect, reflect'. The sense of 'reduce/save' and the administrative meaning 'province' (as in 省份) developed later from the idea of cutting down or overseeing a region.

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